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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450958">The Ghosts Of Friendship</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraculousRickMay/pseuds/MiraculousRickMay'>MiraculousRickMay</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Adventures Of The Miracuclass [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, Gen, Lila Rossi Redemption, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila is good in this series, Marinette &amp; the girl squad, Marinette is an angel in disguise, Marinette loves her Friends, Marinette protection squad, Mostly Fluff, Multi, The girls still love Marinette, everyone deserves a happy ending</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:35:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,978</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraculousRickMay/pseuds/MiraculousRickMay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Let me just start off by saying that this is my first ML fanfic. I would like everyone to share their thoughts on this fanfic &amp; if you liked it maybe consider sharing it with others. </p><p>This is the story of how Lila gets caught on my interpretation. Fu returns with psychic abilities through natural practice &amp; Marinette's girl group learn all about Lila &amp; Marinette's recent stress in this fic. Enjoy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Juleka Couffaine &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Juleka Couffaine &amp; Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Rose Lavillant, Luka Couffaine &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Alix Kubdel, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Kagami Tsurugi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Mylène Haprèle, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Rose Lavillant, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Tikki, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Tom Dupain, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Lila Rossi, Sabine Cheng &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Adventures Of The Miracuclass [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fu's Holiday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Fu &amp; Marianne are living a good life in England but soon, Fu has to return to Paris for some knots that need to be tied up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was another lovely day for Fu &amp; Marianne. After they both left Paris, they've been living a nice life together in England together. They've both set up a nice little tea &amp; massage shop there &amp; it has grown fairly popular &amp; they grew a massive amount of money due to a special tea recipe &amp; some ancient massage techniques they both used. Fu himself was investing in the arts of psychic abilities &amp; was doing really well with them. He mostly does well with telepathy. Marianne is the only one that knows about this &amp; supports him whilst trying to prevent anyone from finding out about him. Fu's also been regaining a few of his memories of his time in Paris back. One day in their shop's above apartment, they both had a chat.</p><p> </p><p>"I believe our business is doing well Fu. We should invest in some things with the money we've accumulated," Marianne said with a soft smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>"I agree my dear but there's something I need to talk to you about," Fu said with a worried expression. Marianne looked confused &amp; worried but replied with a nod.</p><p> </p><p>"I need to go back to Paris for a while, alone. I sense a disturbance there that may require my attention immediately." Marianne looked more worried than ever as she knows of Fu's experience in that akuma filled city. But she knew that she couldn't stop him &amp; she wanted to support him on that decision.</p><p> </p><p>"If you have to go back there Wang then let me come with you. I don't feel like you're safe there all alone."</p><p> </p><p>"No my dear. I have to go alone. I also don't want to put you in danger as well. This is something I have to do myself," Fu replied Fu with a stern look &amp; a serious tone. Marianne knew that Fu didn't like to be denied opportunities to do something good. So she nodded &amp; kissed him gently on the cheek.</p><p> </p><p>"Promise me you'll be safe there."</p><p> </p><p>"I promise," Fu replied, kissing her back before heading off to bed.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning Fu headed to the train station at 10.20 a.m &amp; left Marianne behind to take care of the shop. He had to wear a disguise since he didn't want anyone to recognize him. He wore his usual red shirt with a brown jacket, he also wore his old fedora &amp; brought a hefty sum of money with him to book a hotel room for a few days. He arrived in Paris at 12.30 in the afternoon &amp; went straight for the Le Grand Paris. He booked a room &amp; decided to wait to do his next move the following day considering he just arrived on a Friday afternoon. He was just getting settled in when it was 2.30 p.m. Once it was 9 p.m &amp; he went to sleep, he started to have visions of where the problem was. He had visions of a time, a place &amp; people of what the problem could be &amp; where it occurred.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OK I know the first chapter is short but it's the best I have for now. The next few chapters will be much longer. This chapter introduces Fu &amp; Marianne lives currently after Miracle Queen. I think they went to travel but I've placed them in England.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Marinette's News</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This chapter introduces Marinette &amp; her girl group. It appears she has some news for them on her current state. The girls &amp; Marinette's POV chapter.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a normal Friday for Marinette &amp; her group. With the addition of Kagami with them, things had gotten a lot more interesting &amp; fun for them. The 7 of them are having fun as always after school. Ice cream at Andre's, shopping for clothes &amp; material for Marinette, &amp; overall having a good time. However, something was up with Marinette &amp; whenever they asked her about it, they wouldn't get an actual reply &amp; she would just say she's fine. Kagami on the other hand knows what's going on with her. She knows about Lila's lies thanks to Adrien &amp; she &amp; Marinette have been really close friends of the model after the events of Miracle Queen. Later after that she started to hang out with Marinette's main group. She's really been growing closer to all of them &amp; they all welcomed her with open arms. They would all usually make a stop at Marinette's home before heading home themselves. However, Marinette had some bad news for them this time around.</p><p> </p><p>"Today was a great day, as always right girls?" Alya asked with a big smile on her face. The others were filled with joy &amp; nodded in agreement while some yeahs &amp; yesses came out. However, when Marinette didn't reply with a worried &amp; tired expression on her face, the others turned to her in worry.</p><p> </p><p>"You alright Marinette? You don't seem like yourself. Back at the mall we were having fun. What gives? Is there someone or something botherin you?" Alix was the first one to ask.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, it's not like you're usually like this. We always see you happy, but you're not like yourself right now. What's wrong?" Rose's words were in a sense true because the girls could see their "Everyday Ladybug"'s smile dissipating over the past few days. They all wanted to help her but it doesn't help that she didn't want to actually cooperate.</p><p> </p><p>"C'mon, where's the old Marinette that we love to see?" Mylene said with an apologetic smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>"Girl you can tell us anything, we're your friends," Alya wanted to be there for Marinette ever since her near expulsion. None of them believed Marinette was capable of doing so &amp; they all comforted her the next day after it all happened. They would always be there for her regardless of what happens.</p><p> </p><p>Juleka &amp; Kagami nodded in agreement with the latter being the one to speak first. "You've not been yourself lately. I feel like someone's been disrupting you. Whoever it is, just tell us. We can deal with them."</p><p> </p><p>"Kagami's right you know. We're here for you no matter what," Juleka pitched in.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette sat down at her desk &amp; turned her chair to face them with a weak smile &amp; a small frown &amp; then she spoke. "Oh girls, thanks for your concern &amp; no I don't need you all to deal with anyone for me but I just hope you won't be disappointed or shocked in what I'm about to say." The six of them waited anxiously waiting for her to speak. They had a bit of a worried expression on their faces. "It's just that, I'm grieving the loss of someone I was close to. It's not a family member or anyone like that. It's just that a friend of mine. It's hard to explain what happened to him but I can't say, it's a bit personal. Also I can't join you all for our outing tomorrow because I got a call from Clara Nightingale &amp; Jagged Stone yesterday. They said that they need me to design a cover for their duo album, they also said they need new pieces for the album &amp; they need me to be at Le Grand Paris to help Penny oversee everything. So with all that in mind, I can't join you all tomorrow."</p><p> </p><p>They all let out a sigh of relief but are also maintaining their worried state. "Marinette, why didn't you just tell us. We would've understood, right girls?" Alya asked with all of them nodding in agreement. "It's ok if you can't join us. Besides we'll fill you in on what we did &amp; stop by if we have the time alright?".</p><p> </p><p>"Thanks Alya. Thanks girls. I knew you'd understand." With those words leaving Marinette's mouth, they all ended their day with a group hug.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Next Day:</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The next day arrived sooner than they thought. Marinette was already wide awake ready for the day ahead of her. She was also pleasantly surprised by the fact all her girls sent her a goodluck message &amp; she couldn't help but smile. Tikki greated her good morning as always &amp; they had their usual little chat.</p><p> </p><p>"Morning Marinette," Tikki said with a beaming smile on her little face.</p><p> </p><p>"Good morning Tikki," Marinette replied with a yawn &amp; a tired smile. "Well I better get ready, I have a long day ahead of me."</p><p> </p><p>Marinette took her usual shower, put her everyday clothes on &amp; stared at her computer screen thinking about all the potential designs she can make for Jagged &amp; Clara. Her smile quickly dissipated however &amp; she let out a long sigh. Tikki floated in front of her &amp; asked, "Marinette, are you ok?"</p><p> </p><p>"I'm fine. Why do you ask Tikki?"</p><p> </p><p>"It's because you've been a little down lately. Is it because of. . .?" Tikki didn't even need to finish her sentence.</p><p> </p><p>"I think you know why Tikki. Aside from my new found responsibilities as a guardian for the miraculouses, do you think my friends will ever figure out about Lila's lies?" Marinette asked with a sorrowful look on her face.</p><p> </p><p>Tikki wanted her chosen to feel happy again so she chose her next words carefully. "Don't worry Marinette. I'm sure they'll figure out soon. Besides, Kagami &amp; Adrien already know about this &amp; they both are making sure that she never gets near you &amp; they both convinced your parents &amp; they're also advising you on what to do with her. And besides you have me &amp; the other kwamis to help you figure out your responsibilities as a guardian."</p><p> </p><p>Marinette's smile made a return to her face with all it's glory &amp; Tikki couldn't help but hug her by the cheek. "Thanks Tikki. I'm sure they'll come around &amp; you're right. I have not only them but I have my parents &amp; you to help me."</p><p> </p><p>Tikki let go &amp; smiled happily. "That's the Marinette I know." Then Marinette's door had a knock on it &amp; Tikki quickly went &amp; hid.</p><p> </p><p>"Come in," Marinette said as her mother climbed on through.</p><p> </p><p>"You ready for your big day sweetie?" her mother asked.</p><p> </p><p>"You know I am." And with that, Marinette had her breakfast &amp; made her way to Le Grand Paris. She knows Tikki is right. Her friends will find out about Lila eventually but she didn't expect it to come sooner than she had imagined.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So the person Marinette is referring to is Fu &amp; the fact that she's been hiding her stress from them is tiring but she doesn't want them to feel bad for her. Adrien &amp; Kagami at some point told her parents about Lila's lies. Remember that this all happened after Miracle Queen.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Girls' Run-In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When Alya &amp; the rest of the group spend the day together while Marinette is busy at the Le Grand Paris, they run into an old man that tells them of whats to come next.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Alya &amp; the rest of the gang had met up as usual but at Juleka's instead of Marinette's. Usually they would all suggest ideas before heading out together but without Marinette, things would be a little bit different for them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ok ladies, where should we all head out today? Considering Marinette isn't with us today, maybe I could hear all of your suggestions. But remember we all promised ourselves to give Marinette a surprise visit later so we can't do too much today. Any ideas?" Alya asked with a big smile on her face. The others all had ideas of their own but were a little in the usual standards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rose was the first to speak, not before looking at Juleka &amp; smiling at her with her doing the same, both nodding. "Juleka &amp; I thought that maybe we could do karaoke today. Also we saw a new bubble tea shop &amp; we thought we could go there."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Great suggestion you two. Anyone else?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then came Alix &amp; who looked at Kagami, both nodding as well. "Me &amp; Kagami thought we could go watch a movie. I've been into detective movies recently so me &amp; her thought we could go watch something like, I dunno, the Pink Panther or, heck, even Sherlock Holmes. Maybe we could watch them at Kagami's house considering she's got them on her Netflix account."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oooh, ok girls. Good one. What about you Mylene?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Maybe we could go to Andre's again. I heard from Ivan he has new ice cream flavours we could try?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya was glad they could actually plan something without Marinette for once. Usually she comes up with places to go while the others pitched their own ideas. "Ok girls, our schedule is set. Remember our last stop is Marinette."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of them were excited for their Saturday. They carried out their Saturday plan very well. They all did their karaoke part well. They were all surprised Juleka &amp; Kagami could sing so well, especially Alix. Bubble tea was something they've never tried before &amp; they all thought it was great. Kagami &amp; Marinette have tried it before however when they both had a duo hang out together &amp; Kagami could still remember that day. They all headed to Kagami's house, met her mother &amp; went to her room to watch movies. All of which were detective/mystery movies. Tomoe herself thought Kagami made good friends with Marinette &amp; her group &amp; she would be the one to know. Marinette had chatted with the woman before to have a nice conversation. She was surprised at Marinette's nice stature &amp; responsible &amp; loving nature. She thought to herself that if Marinette was this nice to her daughter, her other friends would follow suit &amp; she was right to an extent. Then they headed out for Andre's to try out his new ice creams. Everything was going good until they saw an old man walking up to Andre's asking for an ice cream. It was Fu. They thought to themselves, 'Oh, just some old folk buying ice cream, nothing out of the ordinary', or so they thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hello monsieur, what can I get for you?" Andre asked the man, excited as usual.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hmm, let me see my options. I'll have a raspberry cone with some chocolate fudge," said the old man with a small smile on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Excellent choice. Coming right up." Andre got to his usual ice cream making magic. Fu was waiting with his hands behind his back. He turned &amp; saw the girls sitting together on a bench across from where he stood. Three were sitting on the bench (Alya, Rose &amp; Mylene), one was sitting on the handguard (Alix) while two  were leaning on the bridge railing (Kagami &amp; Juleka). Rose met eyes with the man. The man smiled &amp; waved at her while she did the same back. Then, out of nowhere, Fu felt his brain surged with pain &amp; he started to hold his head with both arms trying to restrain his own mind. It only proved a little effective &amp; it didn't help that he was screaming at the same time. All the girls &amp; Andre turned to him in shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh dear! Monsieur are you ok?!?!?!" Andre tried to help him up but Fu was in such a pain state he refused any help coming his way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"NO!!! Don't! Please! I'm . . . fine, this is natural for me." Fu tried to restrain himself, nearly fainting in the process. Rose saw &amp; went to his aid, leaving her ice cream on the bench. Just before Alix could call dibs on it, Juleka snatched it first with a 'no you don't' expression on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Come on sir, you'll be alright. Just stay calm, you can do it," Rose said while fanning him with her arms. Fu managed to compose himself &amp; calm his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you young lady. Thank you Andre." Rose &amp; Andre helped him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Maybe you should sit down sir? You did just have a brain surge after all," Rose offered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'd . . . like . . . that. Thank you." She helped Fu get up along with Andre. He was panting really hard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya &amp; Mylene saw &amp; made way for Fu so he could sit. He made his way slowly to the bench and sat down thanking Rose for her help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thank you my dear. That was very kind of you." Fu took a seat &amp; ate his ice cream. The girls &amp; Andre were just relieved that he wasn't hurt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright, I think you girls got it from here. I need to get back to my cart. See you around." And with that, Andre left with his ice cream cart to find some more customers, leaving the girls with Fu.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What happened to you, mister? It looked like you were about to get akumatized you know," asked Mylene with a curious yet worried face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry. It's actually a natural feeling I get. My mind is a little telepathic you see." With that coming out of his mouth, the girls were intrigued at this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wait, so you can read peoples' minds or something like that?" Alix asked with a curious grin on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes that is mostly correct. I also have the ability to sense disruptions through telepathic means. That's actually why I'm in Paris at the moment. I live in England &amp; own a tea &amp; massage shop with my wife. (I'm not sure whether Fu &amp; Marianne are married yet but I'm taking a wild guess.) I sensed a friendship disorder that needed fixing although I'm aware of Hawkmoth &amp; what he's done to people like you young ladies." The girls were awed by his compliment but they were intrigued by the disruption he mentioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Friendship disorder? Here?" Alya asked. Fu just nodded. He asked Alya to give him her hand. She complied &amp; Fu was searching through Alya's mind. He now saw everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I may believe I have found the disorder. There's a disorder in you girls' friendship with a friend of yours that's not here." The girls were shocked at Fu's statement. They knew he was talking about Marinette.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Whaddaya mean, old man? We're fine with that girl of ours that's not here," Alix exclaimed while carefully trying not to say Marinette's name. The others were curious as to what he had to say next.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I tell no lies. It's true. Has she been upset with anything recently?" The girls looked at each other with worried expressions. Alya was the first to speak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well s-she's been a bit upset but she won't tell us why. She told us why yesterday but I think there might be more under the carpet." It was just as he feared. Someone not revealing their full problems to those close to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ok. Well I'm not a fortune teller nor a psychic but heed my warning, all six of you." They waited for what Fu had to say. "You all will be visited by three ghosts tonight. Each representing a point in time of your friendship with this girl. One represents the past, the next represents the present, . . ."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And the last is the future?" Juleka asked the man. Everyone turned to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Precisely. They might take forms of people you know. I know you might not believe me but I speak no lies. This is true. I've been visited by these ghosts before but I'm afraid you all will be the ones needing a visit." all the girls were a bit scared &amp; confused at the same time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I have to leave now. Perhaps we shall meet again." Fu got up from the bench &amp; left, leaving the six of them stunned.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The girls ran into Fu &amp; he told them of the ghosts they're about to meet. Marinette is currently at Le Grand Paris working with Jagged &amp; Clara. Chloe is just watching like "Ugh, I can't believe Marinette's putting up with all her stress recently. She should just vent it all out first. Ridiculous, Utterly Ridiculous."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The girls form a sleepover plan to see whether Fu is telling them the truth about the ghosts or not. Meanwhile, Marinette's parents have a little discussion about Lila while Marinette rests her head.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The girls cannot believe what the old man told them. A disorder between their friendship with Marinette. Nonsense. Kagami was fearful of what the man had said. She knew exactly what he was talking about but didn't want to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you guys believe that old man? I mean sure what he said was convincing &amp; we do see Hawkmoth akumatize people with Ladybug coming in to save them but I'm not fully sold," Alix asked with all of them exchanging glances. Rose spoke first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think he's telling the truth Alix. What if we've done something to Marinette &amp; hurt her without knowing it?" With that, they all went a little pale with Rose going to comfort Juleka. Alya thought long &amp; hard about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Even if we did something, there's no way Marinette would still be with us. She cares for us &amp; we care for her." Alya's words were strong but Juleka had a disagreeing look on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What if she's just putting up with us &amp; deep down, she hates us? What if she doesn't want to be friends with us again, forever?" Juleka cried out while she was already starting to tear up. She entered Rose's embrace crying a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Calm down Jules, everything is gonna be ok. Look girls, how about we all have a sleepover &amp; see if those ghosts really do visit us. Besides, we're doing them a favour by gathering in one place." All of them exchanged looks &amp; knew Rose was right.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think we should do it. After all, maybe we might learn something from this whole ordeal," Kagami said with a serious look on her face. All of them nodded in agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Question is where do we do it?" asked Mylene &amp; they all knew she was right.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I offer my home girls. I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind you all coming over," Kagami offered with a nice smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's a great idea Kagami. Also I think we can have a movie night," Alix chimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alix, I don't think today is that day! Besides, we're doing this for Marinette, not for movies. If you wanted to watch movies you might as well watch them at home!" Juleka replied looking a bit angry while still clutching to Rose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Geez, sorry Juleka. I was only joking. You know how I am." Juleka calmed down with Kagami speaking afterwards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"As much as I'd love to play another movie Alix, Juleka's right. This is for Marinette." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah girls, come on hands in!" Alya chimed. All of them put their hands together. "On three. One, two, three!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"FOR MARINETTE!" With that they all went homes to get their things ready.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>MEANWHILE, AT THE DUPAIN CHENG BAKERY, 7:15 P.M</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette had a long day. Designing, overseeing, too much thinking &amp; etc. She needed some sleep. Her mother came into the room &amp; chatted with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey dear, are you alright?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh hey mom. I'm fine, just really tired. I think I need to sleep immediately after this." Marinette was so overwhelmed &amp; tired she didn't even realise she already took a shower &amp; put on her pajamas.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well get some rest dear. You can tell your friends all about it tomorrow." Her mother was right. Tomorrow, it was relaxing time with the girls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight mom."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight sweetie."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as Marinette climbed onto her bed she asked Tikki to help bring her phone up there. She saw no new texts from the girls but thought maybe they were tired too. She decided to leave them a text before dozing off to dreamland.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile in the living room, Sabine was sitting on the couch a little distraught until Tom walked in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Is she alright dear?" her husband asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, she's alright. She's going to bed early tonight." Sabine just sighed. "Tom, I'm worried for our daughter. Eversince Kagami &amp; Adrien brought Lila's lies to our attention &amp; the fact that she got Marinette expelled &amp; nearly akumatized, I'm worried for her when she goes back to school on Monday." Tom knew his wife was right &amp; thought about what he wanted to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry dear, Marinette's a tough girl. She can handle anything that comes her way &amp; besides, she's got us &amp; her friends to back her up." That's when Sabine turned to her husband with a worried look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I know it's just that, her girl group doesn't even know about Lila's lies. Only Kagami does &amp; Marinette said don't tell them because she believes they can find out themselves. That's what I'm worried about dear. What if that cruel girl turns Alya &amp; the rest against her? Let's not even talk about the boys excluding Adrien. What if they turn on her too?" That's when Tom got worried too. He just gave Sabine a hug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry hun. Her friends are smart. I'm sure they'll figure it out." Sabine just accepted her husband's embrace &amp; knew he was right. They are smart &amp; she knew they would always be there for her daughter.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>While that was happening, Kagami waited for the girls outside her house. They all brought their stuff with them: pajamas, sleeping bags &amp; other things with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami knocked on the door, only for it to be opened by her mother, who was surprised to notice Kagami wasn't alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Kagami, I can sense that you're not alone. Are your friends with you? Why are they here?" Her mother asked in a serious but calm tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Please excuse them mother, but we are having a sleepover &amp; we decided we could use our home for it. Please mother, may we?" Her mother thought long &amp; hard about it. While she may be strict, she still cares for her daughter's happiness &amp; she just made new friends. She also did try to loosen up a bit just like Gabriel with Adrien. She let a sigh &amp; replied back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Alright Kagami. You all may have your sleepover, but please behave yourselves. Also come inside, dinner's ready." Kagami &amp; the girls were relieved. Thank god Kagami's mom was forgiving about this. They all put their stuff near the door &amp; proceeded to sit at the traditional japanese table in their dining area. They ate the traditional japanese dinner together. They all thought it was great. Kagami smilled, knowing her friends loved the food. Then they headed to Kagami's room &amp; set up everything for their night out. Just then they all received a text message from Marinette that says: "Hey girls. I hope you had a good day today. I did too except mine was just very tiring. Hope to see you all tomorrow."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They couldn't help but smile at Mari's message. Just as they were about to watch another movie, on Alix's demand which they were reluctant to accept, Rose was the first to speak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Girls, I'm scared. If those ghosts actually meet us, what if they punish us for actually treating Marinette badly before. It's not like I'm saying that we did but what if they do punish us for something?" All of them felt like they've been slapped in the face because they knew Rose could be right. Juleka stepped in for her dear flower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Rose, look. I'm scared too &amp; I'm sure we all are. Right girls?" They all nodded in agreement while she could see Alix was a little hesitant in nodding with everyone else. "But we're doing this Marinette. It's not like Marinette could ever hate us. I know I'm sounding a little bit hypocritical right now, but we have to be brave, for her. Ok? So if you ever need any confidence, you have me &amp; all of us. We're all in this together." Rose just hugged Juleka in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Thanks Jules. I really needed that," Rose replied sniffling. Juleka just accepted her embrace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya was the one to speak next. "Juleka's right Rose. We're in this together for Marinette." Rose knew Alya was confident that they could do this. After all, this is Marinette they're talkin about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, don't worry 'bout it Rose. Now howabout we all watch a movie to calm down the nerves," Alix spoke up in excitement. Alix wanted to be there for Marinette but deep down, she herself was scared about this but she wanted to keep her brave stature up for her friends. Sooner than later they all watched a nice relaxing movie before heading to sleep.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The girls have a sleepover at Kagami's house. I originally planned to have them do it at Juleka's but I scrapped the idea thinking it wouldn't really make sense because her houseboat while serviceable for a sleepover, I thought it would be interesting to see at another more interesting unseen place in the main series. Also I feel like making Kagami's mother a more relaxed character because if you look on Marinette's instagram, she &amp; Kagami are legit close with each other &amp; she's been hanging out with the other girls recently so I thought that her mother seeing her daughter having more friends, decides to give leeway to her daughter a bit more.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Encounter (Past)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When the girls are asleep, the first ghost decides to make an appearence.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The girls were fast asleep. All snuggled in their sleeping bags, even Kagami who didn't hesitate to join them in exchange of missing the comfort of her own bed. Tomoe quietly checked on the girls &amp; let out a sigh of relief knowing they're alright. She soon went back to bed not before giving Kagami a quiet kiss on the forehead. However, at 12 a.m, the girls' pleasant sleep was only to be interrupted by a familiar voice.</p><p> </p><p>"Girls? Girls, wake up." Alya was the first to wake up. She recognized that voice. A feminine voice with the background of an adult. Alya was a bit confused as to who was calling to them. She wore her glasses &amp; looked around the room. </p><p> </p><p>"Who's there?" She asked only for the same voice to respond.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh Alya dear, look behind you." Alya was nervous to turn around &amp; face the voice. She turned to Kagami's bed &amp; saw a figure sitting on it. There was a light glow coming from the figure. She covered her eyes due to the glow. The figure then spoke. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think my glow was that intense. Let me tone it down." The figure did so to reveal who she was. It was Marinette's mother! But something was different about her. She was in her usual white shirt but her pants were white instead of blue. She was also wearing a flower crown on her head.</p><p> </p><p>Alya stared in awe until she finally spoke up. "Mrs Cheng?! Is that you?!" Alya's question woke the others up.</p><p> </p><p>"Alya what's goin ooonn. . . OH MY GOODNESS!!!" Alix woke up first &amp; saw Sabine sitting on Kagami's bed with Alya staring at her. The others woke up in shock &amp; awe at what they saw.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't worry sweetie. I'm not actually the real Sabine Cheng. I'm the first of the three ghosts. The Ghost of Friendship Past. And I see you all have awoken as well. So nice to see you all." They all were speechless from just witnessing the ghost standing there. "But if you still want to call me Mrs Cheng, by all means you can."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh my gosh, I knew the 'old man' was telling the truth. See Alix," Rose said before shooting Alix a cheeky little smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah yeah, Rose. I get it. I guess he was telling the truth." Alix was pouting a little but nevertheless, they were face-to-face with the first ghost of friendship.</p><p> </p><p>"Now now girls, I'm sure you all have questions but now's not the time." The ghost stood up from Kagami's bed &amp; floated toward the door. She opened it to reveal a portal. "Come along dears, we have a bit of a trip ahead of us." If they thought it couldn't be any more impressive than this, then consider them all amazed &amp; shocked.</p><p> </p><p>"Where are you taking us?" Juleka asked with a nervous look behind her bangs.</p><p> </p><p>"You'll see dear. No need to be scared. We're just taking a quick look into the past.”</p><p> </p><p>All the girls were hesitant about following her but they remembered they did this for Marinette. So they followed her through the portal. They were surprised to be in the streets of Paris.</p><p> </p><p>"Uhh, Mrs Cheng or Ghost of Friendship Past, you only brought us in front of Francoise Dupont," Kagami said with a frown.</p><p> </p><p>"True, but we've taken a dip through time. We're currently in the year 2012. This was Marinette's first year in the school." They all went inside &amp; they could tell they did go back in time. Everything looked &amp; felt different. There were less students overall &amp; the school was less crowded. "Well girls, look who it is." The ghost pointed to the door of the school once again &amp; when the girls turned around only to see Marinette. She looked different compared to now. She still wore the same clothes but her hair was not in pigtails &amp; instead was in a bun. Rose then turned &amp; saw Juleka &amp; herself walking over to Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>"Juleka, LOOK. It's us!" Juleka &amp; the others turned &amp; saw the two in question. Alya &amp; Kagami stared in disbelief as to how Rose looked like before. Juleka pretty much looked the same but Alya &amp; Kagami stared at Rose like she was a completely different person. Her hair was significantly longer than how it is now. They saw the past Rose &amp; Juleka speak with Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi. Welcome to Francoise Dupont. I'm Rose. This my friend Juleka. Are you the new girl in our class?" Rose (Past) asked the new girl.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah I am. I'm Marinette. It's nice to meet you Rose &amp; she said your name was Juleka?" asked Marinette (Past). Juleka just nodded with a shy smile as an answer.</p><p> </p><p>"Sorry about Jules here. She's a little shy. Wanna be friends with us?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sure." So with that the two led Marinette to her new class. The current Rose &amp; Juleka were having a nostalgia attack. They remembered that they were Marinette's first new friends when she came to the school. The ghost led them to Mrs Bustier's past class. They all witnessed Marinette being introduced to the class. She sat with Nino for the time being. Alya noticed some students that she didn't recognize in Mrs Bustier's class before while Kagami just stood among them while noticing Marinette's smile. They all felt warmth when they saw Marinette's smile again.</p><p> </p><p>"Ok I think we're done with this year. Let's move to the next year, shall we?" The ghost opened another portal by snapping her fingers with the girls following behind. Juleka &amp; Rose looked back as they saw that they were having fun with Marinette in class smiling as they went through the portal. Their next destination was the year 2014, Marinette’s third year in Francoise Dupont &amp; their friendship. “Here we are girls. Paris, 2014.” The girls looked around them &amp; they were once again in front of the school. This time however, they saw Chloe in front of the school door waiting for Marinette to arrive. “Alix, Rose, Juleka, Mylene. I think you four will remember this moment.” Alix &amp; Mylene were surprised to hear that but nevertheless they both watched everything unfold.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s gonna happen ‘Not’ Mrs Cheng? I don’t quite remember?” Rose spoke up in a curious tone.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll see dear.”</p><p> </p><p>They once again saw Marinette walking to school as usual. This time she had her hair down like the day that Miracle Queen happened. Kagami remembered that hairstyle. The others were in awe of Marinette’s hair. She was walking up the stairs as usual. Then, Chloe was about to do her usual shtick. As Marinette was walking up the stairs, Chloe tripped her as she was walking up.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my Dupain-Cheng, you put your hair down? You look ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! I mean really, It doesn’t match your usual everyday clothes. My advice, just stick to your stupid pigtails. Ugh, I can’t even be seen with you anymore. Let's go, Sabrina.”</p><p> </p><p>When Chloe was out of sight Sabrina apologised to Marinette &amp; ran off to catch up to Chloe. Just as Marinette was about to get herself up, a figure came up to her &amp; offered her hand. </p><p> </p><p>“You ok?” Marinette didn’t recognise that voice. It was female but it wasn't Rose nor Juleka. From where she was looking down, this girl was wearing roller skates with some black shorts. She looked up &amp; saw a short girl wearing a black &amp; green shirt. She also had pink hair with a cap on her head. Marinette couldn't help but feel bad that this girl was going out of her way to help her. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I'm ok. Thanks for your help. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before,” Marinette (Past) said to the pink-haired girl. The girl looked at her &amp; laughed a little.</p><p> </p><p>“Hah. Oh yeah, sorry! The name’s Alix. I’m a new student here. I’m in your class. So, Marinette’s your name right? I like it.” Marinette nearly blushed at her compliment. “Don’t worry Marinette. I’ll help ya deal with Chloe. I can be like the muscle of your group. Your two buddies, Juleka &amp; Rose already introduced themselves to me. They told me that they were waiting for you. I offered to help keep an eye out for you to come. I’m fully aware of what Chloe’s done to ya before so don’t worry ‘bout it. Whatever beef you got with her, I’ll help you deal with it. However we got a tiny problem.” Marinette found Alix very friendly so far. Despite her size, she offered to stand up to Chloe for Marinette. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s the issue?” </p><p> </p><p>“There’s another new girl that came here &amp; got transferred to our class for her first time here. Her name is Mylene. She’s really nervous about being here already. I’ve known her from our previous school &amp; we’ve been friends there. The other two girls are trying to calm her down as we speak.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh ok. Do you think she could need my help?” Marinette asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Juleka &amp; Rose told me you’re the best person to help calm people down out of nervousness. So we thought we could wait for you to help us calm her down.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure. I can’t wait to meet her.” So past Marinette &amp; Alix headed off to go find &amp; help Mylene. Current Alix had just realized something.</p><p> </p><p>“OK!! I know what’s going here.” Her statement made everyone apart from the ghost jump &amp; look at her in surprise. “You’re showing us our very first encounter with Marinette aren’t you Mrs. Ghost?” Mrs ‘Ghosty’ Cheng just giggled whilst covering her mouth then responded. </p><p> </p><p>“Looks like you’ve caught me Alix. Yes, I’m here to mainly show you all your very first moments &amp; encounters with Marinette. The other ghosts will also try to make you figure out what they’re trying to show you. So considering that you’ve figured out what I’m trying to do, why don’t I send you back to your minds?” The girls had a sense of panic run through them as they wanted to see all of their past moments with Marinette where they actually saw her smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Nononononono Mrs. Cheng. We’d love to continue seeing our past memories with Marinette. Right girls?” asked Alya to the others; to which they quickly nodded in unison with Kagami being the only one to remain calm with all of this.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright girls, if you insist.”</p><p> </p><p>The ghost led the girls into the school &amp; they already saw their past forms laughing &amp; talking with Marinette outside the locker room. It’s been so long since the last time they saw Marinette genuinely laugh &amp; seeing her doing so made their hearts warm. Then, the Mylene of the past spoke up first among them.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for the advice Marinette. I thought I was gonna be alone on my first day of school but now I already have friends.”</p><p> </p><p>“No problem Mylene. I’m happy to help. Also Rose, I just noticed you cut your hair. You look great when it's short.” As Marinette said that, the current girls saw that Rose did cut her hair to the one they knew today. The current Rose was blushing a little when all of them (current) were looking at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Aww, thanks Marinette. I thought a pixie cut would look good for me.” Rose was just blushing as they looked at her in awe, both past &amp; present. Then the present day group noticed Choe walking up to their past group.</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, really Dupain-Cheng, you still have that ridiculous hairstyle. Honestly, if I were a salonist, I would give your hair a better style. Honestly it’s just ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Hahahahaha.” Her laughing was interrupted however.</p><p> </p><p>“HEY! Watch it Bourgeois. Don’t you dare speak bad in front of Marinette in front of my presence!” Alix was the one to speak up for her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, so you want to talk back to me for Dupain-Cheng?! Don’t make me involve my daddy in this shorty.” Alix was done.</p><p> </p><p>“So what if your dad is the mayor. My dad works at the museum at Louvre &amp; I don’t need him to stand up for me &amp; I don’t brag about him either. What’s the matter? Too scared to fight me yourself?” Alix was just giving her mocking faces at this point &amp; she ended it by booping Chloe’s nose. Just as Chloe looked like she was about to throw a fit Sabrina interrupted them.</p><p> </p><p>“Just leave her be Chloe. She’s not worth your time.” Sabrina chipped in to try to stop this.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmph. Your right Sabrina. They aren’t worth my time. Lets go.” Just like that, Chloe stomped off to class. Sabrina just gave them a quiet sorry before rushing off to join Chloe. The whole time, Juleka was just giving Chloe a cold, stern look whilst clutching Marinette. She then broke the silence.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t get how Sabrina can put up with her. Chloe’s just using her. She’s not even treating Sabrina properly like an actual friend.” Marinette broke out of her arms &amp; then tried to consult them.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry girls. I’m sure Chloe &amp; Sabrina are friends behind the scenes. It’s just that I don’t think Chloe wants them to show it.” Juleka just sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“You always see the best in people, don’t ya Marinette?” Alix asked with a bit of a pout.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette just gave her a smug smile &amp; a shrug. That was all Alix needed as a response.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry Alix. Marinette could be right about them. Also, we don’t care what hairstyle you choose. It looks just fine to us,” Rose told her with a big smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks Rose. Lets go to class girls. Don’t want to keep Mrs Bustier waiting.” And with that, they all headed to class. The current girls couldn’t help but watch with glee as they saw Marinette happy.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright girls. Let's go, the next year awaits us.” The ghost opened another portal &amp; they followed her through it. They ended up in front of Marinette’s house. “Here we are girls. Paris, 2015.” The girls looked around them &amp; saw that Alya was approaching the bakery. She just phased right through them. She knocked on the door. Marinette came to the door to answer it.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya you made it!” Marinette exclaimed with joy.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I did, Marinette. Anything for my new friend.” As soon as she said that, Marinette dragged her inside where she met with the other girls.</p><p> </p><p>Present day Alya &amp; the others, apart from Kagami, remembered this day. This was the first time Marinette introduced her to the others &amp; they had their first outing with her. “I think you all remember this day except for Kagami, right girls?” the ghost asked &amp; they all nodded in unison with Kagami having a confused look whilst tilting her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Umm, could anyone care to enlighten me on what’s going on right now with your past selves?” They turned to Kagami &amp; Rose was the first to answer her question.</p><p> </p><p>“This was Alya’s first time to meet us Kagami. We went on our first ever outing with her. We’ll remember this day forever.” As soon as Rose mentioned that, their past selves ran out of the bakery screaming “TO THE MALL!”. They all couldn’t help but smile at their old selves having fun with Marinette. Kagami broke their silence.</p><p> </p><p>“So, Mrs Cheng, I guess I’m the last part of this journey.” Kagami asked. The ghost turned to her &amp; giggled.</p><p> </p><p>“Well dear, you’re both right &amp; wrong. Yes you are at the last piece of my puzzle but it’s not the end of this entire puzzle. All of you, your trip with me is nearly over, but the other two ghosts will take it from here.” The girls had sad expressions on their faces because they were happy to see Marinette’s happy face again but they knew that they had to attend the other ghosts’ visits. With that, the ghost opened one last portal &amp; they all went through it. They were at a bridge at the Seine &amp; the first thing they saw was Kagami there waiting for someone. They heard panting come from behind them &amp; it was Marinette running towards the bridge, once again phasing through them. They witnessed her &amp; Kagami’s whole conversation. (I had to quote from Ikari Gozen)</p><p> </p><p>“The game is over. We lost.“ Kagami showed her phone to reveal that Wayhem &amp; Alya won the game. Alya wilted a bit but had a reassuring look from Kagami herself.</p><p> </p><p>“No, we won the right to get orange juice together. If you still want to, that is. Nothing can stop us now.” </p><p> </p><p>“I was wrong about you, Marinette. I'm glad this game randomly put us together. Now I understand why Adrien considers you a good friend.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh– uh– did he tell you that… I mean… that we're friends?” Kagami nodded in response.</p><p> </p><p>“By the way, I've been thinking about this blood type thing. Isn't that a bit like the Zodiac thing? What's your sign?”</p><p> </p><p>“Dragon.”</p><p> </p><p>“No way! I'm snake, do they go well together?”</p><p> </p><p>“Actually, I don't really believe in that stuff.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me neither, but you know what, I'm glad we're friends.”</p><p> </p><p>They watched Kagami &amp; Marinette walk off together. After that they all turned to the current Kagami. “So that’s how you both became friends?” asked Alix.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. It wasn’t the best way for it, but we all made it work in the end right?” Kagami gave a nervous smile.</p><p> </p><p>They all looked at her with apologetic smiles. “Don’t worry ‘bout it Kagami. You both made it the end.” Alya gave her a reassuring smile back. Kagami said in her head that she owes them.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright girls, I believe our time is up. You must return to Kagami’s room now,” the ghost said as she opened another portal. The girls looked at each other before turning to face the ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for showing us our past memories with Mari, Mrs Cheng,” Alya thanked her first before the others thanked her.</p><p> </p><p>“It was my pleasure girls, but I wouldn’t keep your hopes up for too long. Just prepare yourselves for my companions.” The girls entered another portal just like normal. A flash of bright light shined as they went through it.</p><hr/><p>The girls woke up from their sleep in unison. Mylene broke the silence among them this time. “Did you all see that?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I guess we did,” Alix replied. “I guess these ghosts show us this in our sleep. So if I’m correct, we did experience what we did. It's just that I guess we left our bodies as ghosts ourselves &amp; left our bodies here to go with her.” All of them stared at Alix in shock liked she’s been studying for every End-Grade exam out there </p><p> </p><p>“What? I can think of some stuff too.”</p><p><br/><br/>“I think Alix is right everyone. We must prepare ourselves for the Ghost of Friendship Present.” They all look at each other as Kagami says that &amp; knows she’s right. So with that, they all went back to bed &amp; waited for the arrival of the next ghost of friendship.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The first ghost, the Ghost of Friendship Past, took the form of Marinette's mom Sabine. She showed them some of their past moments they've made with Marinette most of which include meeting her for the first time.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Encounter (Present)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The next ghost arrives to visit the girls &amp; when he shows them some of the missing pieces of the girls' friendship with Marinette in the current present which includes her disapating happiness, her stress &amp; Lila's lies.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once again the girls were fast asleep &amp; waited for the next ghost patiently in their sleep. They got their next visit at 2:15 a.m. The next ghost silently floated into the room with a cheeky grin on his face before landing next to Kagami’s T.V.</p><p> </p><p>“Girls, wake up. C’mon squirts I’m here &amp; I know you’ve been waiting for me patiently.” The first one to wake up this time was Rose. She got up slowly from her sleeping bag &amp; was in shock to see who was the figure next to the T.V. It was Marinette’s father! His clothing was different just like his wife, who’d the previous ghost had taken the form of. He was wearing a fedora on his head &amp; on his body, he was wearing a black &amp; grey suit with his usual light blue shirt on the inside of the suit. His light brown pants remained.</p><p> </p><p>“Mr Dupain? Is that you?” Rose squealed in slight bit of fear.</p><p> </p><p>“Well Rose, it’s technically me. I’m the Ghost of Friendship Present but I’ve taken the form of Tom Dupain just like my companion has his wife.” The other girls woke up in shock to see him wearing that clothing. “Well, now that you’re all awake, let's get our trip started.” He grabbed the T.V remote &amp; opened a portal in front of the T.V by pressing the ON button. “Hop through the portal &amp; let’s get my end of the puzzle solved shall we?” He hopped in the portal first with the girls following behind him. They all landed in Marinette’s bedroom. “Welp, that could’ve gone better. Anyways, we’re here girls, Paris, 2016.” The girls recognised this moment when they all saw the chart Marinette had pulled down.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t know Marinette had a chart in her room,” Kagami said whilst very confused as to what’s happening. The others blushed a little bit with Juleka explaining what’s happening.</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami don’t freak out or anything but that's a chart of Adrien's schedule. We were helping Marinette set herself up with Adrien on this day. She may have screwed up a little but it ended with us having fun with each other instead.” The very moment Juleka finished speaking, Kagami burst out into laughter, closing her eyes, throwing her head back &amp; falling to the floor. The others looked at her in surprise when she was laughing so hard. They didn’t think they’ve ever heard Kagami laugh this hard before.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s so funny?” Alix said as she shot Kagami a smug grin.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami took a while to calm down from her laughing fit. Once she did she needed to breathe. She finally calmed down &amp; had to form her words properly. “Oh it’s nothing Alix.” She was still giggling while talking. “It’s just that, if I knew how much Marinette cared for Adrien until she would do, THAT, I would’ve surrendered him to her immediately. We both came to a friendly conclusion that we could share our love for him &amp; leave the decision to him.” The girls stared at Kagami until she stopped giggling but they understood that she &amp; Marinette both had a love interest in Adrien so they could respect their decision.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this why you brought us here Tom? To see us throw Kagami into a laughing fit?” Alya asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No, of course not but Kagami telling you that is revealing though. There’s more to this story though. Come lets go. You all need to solve this mystery.” Tom snapped his fingers &amp; opened another portal. They all went through it with Kagami looking back to see her friends’ previous selves. So this is what they were like before she met them. If only Adrien knew but she promised to stick with her promise to Marinette. As they went through the portal, they all landed in the park with its gates closed. They could see Marinette at the gates about to open them. But they could see she was upset &amp; distraught over something. Then they all noticed Luka cycling towards her. He went over to her aid. (This time I’m quoting from Hearthunter).</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay, Marinette?” Luka asked with a worried tone.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I'm fine.” The girls listened to Marinette’s response. They could tell that it was forced. They didn’t expect what happened next though. “Actually no, I'm not fine at all. I'm so tired Luka, of all these responsibilities, of having to put up a front all the time, of never being able to be who I truly am.” The girls’ eyes were bulging &amp; they felt like they'd been hit by a truck. Marinette was crying; In front of them; They’ve never seen Marinette cry, ever! They all had one thing on their minds, “What happened to her?!”. To make matters worse or better, Luka was the only one comforting her, not them. Why didn’t she tell them this? Luka did tell Juleka however. Juleka found it hard to believe at first &amp; had promised herself &amp; Luka to keep a close eye on their ball of sunshine but now that she’s seen it first hand, now she really wants to sock whoever had the nerve to make her be in this state. The same thought was in the rest of the girls’ heads</p><p> </p><p>“It's alright Marinette. You can tell me everything, or... nothing if you prefer. You can be yourself with me you know, just yourself.” While Luka calmed her down, the girls were just watching speechless. Who in the world had the tenacity to make Marinette sad until she could cry. Rose &amp; Mylene just wanted to step in &amp; give her a hug remembering they couldn’t touch her even if they wanted too, Alya was still wondering who could’ve done this while Alix, Kagami &amp; Juleka were planning to do something about whoever did this to her.</p><p> </p><p>“I could kill someone right now. Who, in the history of Paris, has the right mind to make our beloved Marinette cry?!?!” Alix was screaming her lungs out at this point.</p><p> </p><p>“I agree Alix. Whoever did this to Marinette deserves punishment!” Kagami responded while trying to calm Alix down.</p><p> </p><p>“You two aren’t the only ones. If my mom’s ship had a cannon, I’d put it to good use.” Juleka was envious while looking at the two of them with a devious smirk. Considering Marinette &amp; Luka have gotten closer together, she’s been getting closer to Marinette too, especially Rose. She would normally offer to help Marinette model her designs. Luka told her if things didn’t go well with Adrien, he’d be there for her friend. She was really considering if this was Adrien’s fault. If Adrien had anything to do with Marinette’s sadness, he would answer to her. Then Rose’s voice snapped her out of imagination.</p><p> </p><p>“Juleka! Don’t be like that. I’m sure whatever happened to Marinette we’ll find out together.” Honestly Juleka was glad Rose was there for her. Rose was her shining light but Marinette was both of her &amp; Rose's rainbow.</p><p> </p><p>“I could give you all the answer girls. As long as you all promise to hear me out &amp; not freak out immediately.” Mr. ‘Ghosty’ Dupain spoke up with all of them turning to him. He opened another portal &amp; they all went through it. They arrived back at Kagami's room.</p><p> </p><p>“What the heck? Why are we back here Mr. Dupain? Is our time up yet?” Alix asked, still a little angry.</p><p> </p><p>“First of all Alix no, not yet. Secondly speaking, you all know Marinette has been designing a lot lately right?” They all nodded in response. Tom turned on the TV &amp; they could see Marinette in her room designing whilst screaming a little bit &amp; stressed out. “Well lately a lot of famous celebrities have been commissioning from her a lot like Jagged Stone &amp; Clara. To make matters worse, as your class representative, she has her own duties there &amp; unfortunately it’s been clashing with her designing time. All her freetime taken up for school while the rest is for designing. All those times you’ve all been asking Marinette if she needs help, she refused because she didn’t want to bother you.” Ok. Now the girls felt like they’d been set on fire. All this time they’ve been asking Marinette about her stress, she says it’s fine &amp; they accept it, she’s been hiding stress &amp; tiredness underneath it &amp; she didn’t want to bother them because of it. Marinette really was an angel in disguise. Tom then turned off the TV.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that all? Is that why she’s been stressed out recently? Poor Marinette. How could we let this happen to her?!” Rose asked in a very nervous tone whilst crying on Juleka’s shoulder. At this point, it felt like she could toss herself into the Seine &amp; ask no one for help.</p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately no. You all know Lila right?” Alya wanted to kill herself. Lila had done something to her bestie &amp; she should’ve seen it coming. Marinette tried to warn her that Lila was bad news but she just thought it was out of jealousy but there’s really been something under the carpet. The others felt the same except Kagami. “Well I’m sure Marinette’s been trying to warn you of her lies right? Well, there’s more to that.” He turned on the TV once again &amp; it showed the day they all took the mock test on a security camera in the class. The footage showed that they all had exited the class except for Lila &amp; Mrs Bustier. When Lila told Mrs Bustier that her shoe was untied &amp; she tried to tie it, Lila sneakily grabbed the answer sheet from the desk &amp; hid it behind her once Mrs. Bustier got up. The girls were speechless. Lila was the one who took the mock test answer sheet &amp; hid it in Marinette's bag. “Before any of you speak, please just look at the next few footages &amp; then speak.” The girls were reluctant but they all nodded in agreement. Tom turned to the next footage &amp; it showed the locker room the same day they took the test. They saw Marinette tying her shoelace with Lila tip-toeing behind her. They all watched as she had the audacity to slip the answer sheet into her bag but also, she silently opened her locker &amp; threw her pendant into her locker. Honestly, Alya felt like crying a river because she didn’t trust Marinette’s judgement &amp; just went along with Lila’s lies. She trusted someone new over her long time friend. The other felt the same sans Kagami, who felt like exploding with guilt. The next footage showed Marinette &amp; Lila walking to Mr Damocles’ office. Words could not describe how speechless they were because of what they saw next. (Quoting from Ladybug)</p><p> </p><p>“I swore I'd make your life unbearable, Marinette. Let's see how you get out of this one,” Lila said to Marinette with an evil smile. The girls' brains, aside from Kagami, almost couldn’t compute. Lila was actually being mean to Marinette. While they never believed Marinette could be mean to anyone, they didn’t expect this. Then she spoke back.</p><p> </p><p>“I'm not falling in your trap, Lila.” The girls knew that tone. That’s Marinette’s serious tone. When she spoke in that tone, they knew something was up. They just couldn’t figure out what’s with her &amp; Lila though.</p><p> </p><p>“Too late. You already have.” Lila went down the stairs. Now they understood the scenario.</p><p> </p><p>“Where are you going?” Marinette asked nervously. That was not good. The girls knew she was about to go into panic mode when she spoke like that.</p><p> </p><p>“You're about to find out! Ready? HELP!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!” Lila faked an injury while Mylene’s father rushed to her aid. Alix &amp; Mylene could kick Lila’s butt so many times right now. The others felt the same. She faked being pushed down the stairs to get Marinette framed &amp; fooled Mylene’s father as well?!. How could she do that?! Just before they could fully react however . . .</p><p> </p><p>“What's the holdup over here?” Mr Damocles came out of his office in anger. Marinette was in her panic at that point. She couldn’t do anything.</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette pushed me down the stairs!” ‘Why that lying brat’ was flowing through all the girls’ heads right now &amp; they could see Marinette completely helpless just standing there with a shocked expression in front of their own principal. She was doomed.</p><p> </p><p>“In my office!” Just like that, they both headed inside Mr. Damocles office with Lila evilly smirking at their sunshine orb. Alix broke their silence.</p><p> </p><p>“I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT LYING SON-OF-A-GUN!!! SHE WAS THE REASON MARINETTE GOT EXPELLED!!! SHE EVEN LIED TO EVERYONE ABOUT HER INCLUDING US!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS, CAN ANY OF BELIEVE THIS? I SURE CAN’T!!!!!” Alix was in a fiery rage at that point. The others could concur but were a bit more tamed.</p><p> </p><p>“Alix, calm down! You’re not making this any easier for us!” Kagami tried her best to calm the pink headed skater to no end. It didn’t help that she was upset about this too. That being said no one else noticed she was anxious at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>“I still don’t get it though. Why would Lila do this to her? Why Mr. Ghost?” Rose asked the ghost with some tears in her eyes; Juleka cuddling her at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>“Well that requires me to take you to that scene. Remember when Marinette flicked that napkin towards Max &amp; then angrily stomped off to the bathroom because Lila took it for him. Well for one, that napkin could not have possibly hurt him because he’s wearing glasses but it’s what happened afterwards that's the issue. Marinette had known Lila was lying since she first came to the school. So naturally, she would try to tell all of you. But when she failed, well, you all know the results from what you’ve seen.” With that, Tom (Ghost) snapped his fingers &amp; they found themselves on that same day, in the girls bathroom. There, they saw Marinette growling angrily looking down at the mirror into the sink. They couldn’t help but feel bad for her but also felt like they'd been slapped in the face because not only did they not believe her about Lila, but they just went on &amp; believed Lila anyway. Then Lila walked in.</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette? Oh, are you crying?” They all could tell she was pretending to be sympathetic.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I'm not!” The girls all knew something in common; when Marinette is like how she is now, it means she’s scared of something to lose. They already knew what though; her friendship with them.</p><p> </p><p>“I can sense that you don't like me, but I don't understand why. We barely know each other.” Honestly, Alix was just sneering at Lila &amp; once again she broke the silence among them.</p><p> </p><p>“OF COURSE SHE DOESN’T LIKE YOU!!! YOU FRICKIN DECEIVER!!!” Alix was just freaking out at this point. It took a nudge from Juleka to calm her down slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Alix, just pay attention to what’s happening,” Juleka replied with a very cold &amp; stern look on her face. Alix knew not to mess around with the goth when she made that face. Lila continued talking.</p><p> </p><p>“Don't tell me it's because of this new seating arrangement in class!" Marinette just turned away. "It is! Of course, you're jealous because I'm sitting next to Adrien, because you would've given anything to sit there yourself. You know what? It's really not worth fighting over a boy. You and I could be friends, and who knows, I might even be able to help you with Adrien.”</p><p> </p><p>“No you can’t.” This time it was Mylene. She was clearly not enjoying Marinette being toyed with like this. Then Marinette turned to Lila to speak again.</p><p> </p><p>“You and I will only be friends the day you stop lying, Lila!” Lila just did a fake gasp. “I can't prove it, but I know for a fact that you don't have tinnitus, that your wrist is just fine, that you don't know Prince Ali because you've never even stepped foot in Achu, and despite what you got Alya to write on her Ladyblog, Ladybug has never saved your life!” Then Lila just smirked at the poor bluenette.</p><p> </p><p>“I only tell people what they want to hear.”</p><p> </p><p>“It's called lying!” She was starting advancing on Marinette slowly.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t like where this is going girls.” Rose’s anxiety &amp; anxiousness levels were off the scale &amp; Juleka noticed this. Even cuddling her was not enough to reduce it. As Lila was talking, she started to pin Marinette against the wall.</p><p> </p><p>“There's nothing you can do about it, anyway. People can't resist when they hear what they like to hear. If you don't want to be my friend, fine! But soon you won't have any friends left at all. And trust me, I'll make sure you never get close to Adrien in class or anywhere. You seem a little less dumb than the others, so I'll give you one last chance. You are either with me or against me. You don't have to answer right away. I'll give you 'till the end of class today.” Ok, now they’ve seen everything. They thought Lila was bad enough from what they saw but this, this was just icing on the cake. Lila threatened Marinette to take everything from her. Alix was just done at this point. She wanted to go to Lila’s house &amp; just kidnap her, tie her up &amp; slap her until she fainted then she would return her home hoping she would be unconscious for an entire year. Alya &amp; Kagami wanted to bash her for lying to them, Mylene just wanted to give Marinette a hug while Juleka &amp; Rose had their own ‘intentions’ for her floating through their own imaginative heads while glaring at her. Then Lila left the bathroom &amp; left Marinette there. Tom was doing some actions with his fingers behind his back to alter the scene so the girls didn’t know that Marinette was Ladybug. The scene altered &amp; Marinette ran into a bathroom stall &amp; started to cry. Just before the girls could phase through the bathroom door to check on her, the ghost snapped his fingers &amp; brought them back to Kagami’s room, leaving the girls a bit disappointed.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess our time is up isn’t it?” asked Alix.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess so squirts. However, you need to solve what I’ve been trying to show you so I may leave.” While they all tried to figure out what Tom’s been trying to show them, Kagami was starting to look more &amp; more anxious. Rose took notice.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you ok Kagami? You seem more anxious than before?” Everyone turned to her in worry. Kagami honestly couldn’t take it anymore. She dropped to her knees &amp; started crying softly. Mylene came to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami, what’s wrong just tell us.” Mylene gave her a tight hug. Not even seconds after Kagami pushed Mylene gently away then spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I’VE DISHONORED ALL OF YOU!” All were shocked when she screamed. “Girls, I can’t take it anymore. I’ve known about Lila’s lies all along but this only came to my attention recently. Marinette told me not to tell you because she thought you wouldn’t believe us. I-I’m so sorry. I don’t deserve your friendship!” After that shocking reveal, Kagami just curled up, on the floor &amp; continued crying. The other girls exchanged looks with each other. Then Rose walked up to Kagami.</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami. Look at me.” Kagami looked at Rose slowly, bringing her wet face to her sweet friend's slightly wet face. “Look, it’s ok. It’s not your fault. We might not have believed you both at first but now after all this, I can say on behalf of everyone here that we can firmly believe both of you. It’s ok. We’re still your friends.” Rose brought Kagami back up from the floor &amp; hugged her. The others followed suit.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Rose. Thank you all. But there’s something else I need to tell you.” They all waited patiently for her to tell them what she had to say. “Girls you may not like to hear this but . . . Adrien knows about Lila’s lies too. Longer than me actually.” They all gasped. That really ticked Alix off. The boy Marinette had a crush on knew about her biggest threat but never did anything to help her. That left them speechless. Rose was still gaping over it while the others were wondering why Adrien didn’t help her. “Her parents know however so please don’t be so hard on Adrien when we go back to school on Monday.” Well that’s what took to calm them down a little.</p><p> </p><p>“Why would Adrien not help her through? It makes no sense.” Alya thought to herself. Adrien, probably the nicest guy she knows outside of Nino wouldn’t help Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>“Well girls, you still didn’t answer my question.” They all turned back the ghost &amp; realised he was right. They haven’t answered his question. Then Alix answered.</p><p> </p><p>“I got it! You showed us everything we’ve missed out in our friendship with Marinette recently.” The ghost nodded with a smile followed by Alix shouting a boo yaa. “Wait, before you go, what will happen with the Ghost of Friendship Future?”</p><p> </p><p>They all turned to the ghost who was thinking on what to say. He really didn’t want to spoil their next visit. “Well, I can’t really say much. In fact I’m not allowed to say anything but I can bend the rules a little bit. The last of my companions will show you your potential futures with Marinette. However some, you all might not like them.” Upon hearing that, they all paled. What could their friendship for Marinette hold in the future? But before any of them could say anything back, the ghost snapped his fingers &amp; then a huge flash of light appeared in front of them.</p><hr/><p>The girls woke up again but this time in slight sweat with eyes wider than normal. Alix broke their silence. “You all saw that right? We need to confront Marinette about all of this! The sooner the better I say!” They all nodded in unison untl Rose realised something.</p><p> </p><p>“Girls, we still have one more visit though. The Ghost of Friendship Future.” Rose’s voice sounded more scared than usual. Juleka went to comfort her with a warm embrace although she herself was scared. Then Kagami spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“We must brace ourselves everyone. I believe this might be our most dreadful trip of the night but remember, we must honor this for Marinette.” They all exchanged looks &amp; knew Kagami was right.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s just go to sleep already. I can’t take the suspense anymore.” Alix spoke up. And with that, they all went back to sleep &amp; waited for the last ghost.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm so sorry this chapter took a while. I was caught up with some stuff &amp; I'm currently working on the 7th chapter. Anyways Lila's lies get revealed to the girls in this chapter &amp; the ghost takes the form of Marinette's father. I think you can all guess who the last ghost takes the form of.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Encounter (Future)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The girls are anxious as the next ghost takes the form of the last person they want to see &amp; shows them the future they will have if they didn't visit them. What they didn't expect though was Marinette's forgiveness travels to this future too. (WARNING: Slight angst in this chapter but only in the middle.)</p>
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    <p>Asleep &amp; anxious, the girls waited for the Ghost of Friendship Future. They all remembered what the previous ghost had said to them &amp; that had them questioning what could their future with Marinette possibly hold. They also could imagine who the last ghost was. Welp, know that’s about to happen. It was 4:35 a.m for the final visit. The last ghost phased through the wall near Kagami’s desk &amp; sat on the chair. She then spoke. “I thought about asking to wake you all up, but I can sense you’re all anxious enough for me to come. So why don’t we get this over with.” This time, Juleka was the first to get up. She got up slowly, scared upon hearing that familiar voice &amp; turned to the direction of the voice. She saw the ghost sitting on Kagami’s chair &amp; she dreaded looking in the first place. The final ghost was who she predicted; Marinette. She was wearing a completely pitch-black dress that nearly looked like either a wedding gown or if she was going to someone's funeral &amp; she was wearing long-black gloves that went all the way to her elbows to match. Her hair was down without her pigtails. She had a long dark blue parasol next to her that matched her hair colour. Oddly, her dress had red polka-dots on it. Lastly she was wearing a flower crown like the first ghost but they were all black &amp; she wore glistening red lipstick. She was filing her nails with a nail file before slowly looking at Juleka.</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette?! There’s now way that’s really you?!” Juleka was really scared at that point. When Rose woke up she saw poor Juleka frozen in place. She turned to what her girlfriend was eyeing &amp; she saw Marinette as well.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no. Marinette?” Rose squealed in fear. The others woke up &amp; saw Marinette &amp; they were all cowering already. Alya spoke next.</p><p> </p><p>“Girl? Is that really you?!” Alya was terrified. After everything they saw she was afraid the final ghost would take Marinette’s form &amp; punish them.</p><p> </p><p>‘Marinette’ just giggled evilly before getting up &amp; facing them. They all got up &amp; backed up still scared. “You know girls, it’s funny. It all started when Lila came. Minus Kagami, you all just took her word.” She was advancing on the girls slowly who were backing into a corner in Kagami’s room. Kagami took a bold stance &amp; stood in front of her friends but she was still scared. ”You all took her word over mine &amp; did everything she said.” Once they reached the corner, they were beyond terrified. “And where did that lead you all?” She once again giggled whilst pointing the parasol at them. The girls grimaced. “Back to me.” And with that, they all fainted in that corner. The ghost realised she may have taken things a bit too far. “Oh dear, I think I’ve gone a bit too far.”</p><hr/><p>“Girls, wake up. Wake up. Are you all ok?” They all woke up in the park outside near Marinette’s home on the ground. They all woke up to see the same Marinette from earlier. Before they could scream &amp; run she explained their situation. “I'm so sorry I scared you all. I may have taken it a bit too far.”</p><p> </p><p>“You THINK?! No offense.” This time, Juleka broke their silence. “I was so scared thinking you were actually Marinette then realised you were the final ghost &amp; thought you were going to punish us! Sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“No no, you’re right Juleka I took it too far. My apologies. That was very unprofessional of me to do. I assume you know who I am?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup, the Ghost of Friendship Future,” Alix spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“Correct &amp; uhh, sorry about my appearance. I think I may have imitated Marinette in a bit of a grim way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nonono, it’s fine. We may have assumed your appearance was gonna be like this anyway. No offence,” said Alya with an apologetic smile.</p><p> </p><p>“None taken Alya &amp; I can understand. Once again, sorry for scaring you all. That was very unprofessional of me. Anyway, why don’t we get back on the right foot shall we?” With that they all got up &amp; got ready for their next journey.</p><p> </p><p>“So uhh, Mrs. Marinette Ghost, where are we?” asked Rose with a tiny pinch of fear in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>“We are in Paris 2025. I heard from my companion that he told you what I’m about to show you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, he said that you’ll show us our potential futures with Marinette,” Alix sprung up.</p><p> </p><p>“Precisely Alix. However that’s not fully accurate. I’m actually here to show you what happened if me &amp; my companions didn’t visit you all. I see one potential future for all of you with Marinette if we didn’t visit but it’s not all sunshine &amp; rainbows as they say.” They all started to look anxious again. Only one future?! What could that mean.</p><p> </p><p>“So wait, we only get ONE potential future with Marinette if you didn’t visit us?!” asked Alix again in shock of hearing that.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. I’m terribly sorry but this was the best I can muster to see. So I hope you can brace yourself with what you’re about to see.” They all grimaced. They only had one future with Marinette &amp; they had no idea where it would lead. The girls exchanged glances with each other then Alya spoke to her again.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you mind giving us a minute? We need to discuss something.”</p><p> </p><p>“No problem Alya. Take your time girls, I’m very patient anyways &amp; besides I’ve stopped time so I wouldn’t spoil the surprise.” And with that the girls walked away from the ghost &amp; started discussing.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright girls, I don’t know how much more I can take. I mean sure we’re doing this for Marinette but the fact that we’re seeing our bad future first, I don’t know if I can take this emotional rollercoaster anymore.” The girls could tell Alya was scared. Alix spoke up next.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya look, we know you’re scared &amp; so are we but we’re doing this for Marinette. So you think you could hold on a little bit longer. Remember, for Marinette.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah Alya. Out of all of us, you are the closest to her. You’re the one who can help us get to the end,” sparked up Rose.</p><p> </p><p>“Rose is right you know. Marinette needs us &amp; you’re the one to first comfort her after Lila got her expelled while we followed suit. It’s like we’re a team &amp; while Marinette is our leader, you’re her second-in-command. It’s all on all of us to be there for her but you are the one to lead us there.” Kagami was really wise with her words &amp; Alya knew that.</p><p> </p><p>“We all have been getting closer to her recently but you’re the one that’s the closest to her. You can do this &amp; you have us as well. I know you’re scared; we’re all scared too but if you’re like me &amp; pretend not to be it becomes way easier to take some scary &amp; think of it as a minority.” Juleka was definitely feeling more confident than normal but her advice was solid as diamonds.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re all here for you Alya &amp; you’re here with us for Marinette.” Mylene's words were the last ones she needed to hear for encouragement.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks girls.” With that Alya pulled them all into a hug. “Alright let's do this.” She let them go &amp; went back to the ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“Had a nice group hug?” They all nodded. “Good. So I assume you’re ready?”</p><p><br/><br/>“Yes we are. So what’s happened in our . . (gulp) . . bad future Mrs. Ghost?” Alya asked in a slightly nervous tone.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you all may not like this, but it starts with Marinette leaving the class.” The girls already grimaced. Marinette left the class but why? “Before any of you ask, this is what one of the possible futures if you all believed Lila so while there’s a lot more, this is the one I saw that had the most possible chance of happening. So anyway, she transferred to Mendeleiev’s class &amp; made new friends there.” The girls still wondered what caused Marinette to do this.</p><p> </p><p>“So Marinette transferred to Mrs. Mendeleiev’s class. I assume that she did that to avoid Lila?” asked Alix.</p><p> </p><p>“Not just that I’m afraid Alix.” The ghost pointed towards the entrance of the bakery &amp; they all saw Alya &amp; Nino walking to the entrance. Alya noticed she &amp; Nino were older &amp; wearing different clothing on. Alya was wearing a neat orange &amp; black dress whilst Nino was wearing a blue shirt with some dark blue jeans. Marinette’s mother spotted them from inside &amp; was surprised. She went to the door before they even knocked.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya, Nino? What are you both doing here? I haven’t seen you both in years. Is everything ok?” asked Sabine in a surprised tone. Present Alya was shocked at that statement. She hasn’t seen Marinette’s mom for that long? But why? Did she anger or upset her mother in some way?</p><p> </p><p>“We just want to see Marinette Mrs Cheng. Please we want to apologise to her.” Apologise? What had Alya done to Marinette &amp; only after this long for her to apologise to her?</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Marinette. I’m sorry Alya but I can’t help you for that. I don’t even know where she is right now. Even if I did know, I don’t know if she would want to see you both. I’m very sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“We understand Mrs Cheng. If she comes home, please tell her we want to make up with her,” Nino pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright you two. Thanks for stopping bye &amp; it’s actually nice to see you after so long,” replied Sabine. With that, Alya &amp; Nino left the bakery with hope that they could find Marinette somewhere. Present Alya was in shock of the scene. The others were in shock as well. Then she turned to speak to the ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, Mari Ghost, what has happened here?” Alya asked the ghost in nervousness. The ghost turned to her knowing she would ask that question.</p><p> </p><p>“Well Alya, girls, please don’t freak out immediately.” That already sent shivers down their spine but they stayed calm confirming they’re ready to hear what the ghost had to say. “Well, Marinette left the class because, well . . ., some of you did do some really mean things to her, even meaner than what Chloe can pull off I hate to add.” Ok, now they want to knock themselves out forever. What had they done to Marinette? “Sadly though, only you didn’t step up for her Alya.” All the girls gasped &amp; looked at Alya. Alya looked like she’s been in trauma for 100 years. Then she dropped to the ground &amp; started crying a little. Rose &amp; Mylene were quick to give her a hug. “Lila had nearly the entire class on her fingertips. You were the only girl standing up for Lila, Alya. The only boys that stood up for her were Ivan, Adrien &amp; Nathaniel. In fact, Sabrina had ditched Chloe to help Lila. You two, along with Kim, Max &amp; Nino ditched her for Lila. The rest of you, along with the three boys I mentioned earlier &amp; Chloe believe it or not stood up for Marinette.” With those words coming out of her mouth, Alya’s crying intensified. Then she started to speak through her sobs.</p><p> </p><p>“Why did I do that?!?! What have I done to Marinette?!?! PLEASE Mrs. Ghost, tell us!!!” The ghost looked at the girls in pity. They all started tearing a little.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it started as small things like you taking her stationary &amp; hiding it, throwing her bag into the lost &amp; found bin, &amp; forcing her to the back of the class alone.” Alya just teared more at that with the others slightly following suit. “Then it got more &amp; more worse like ripping apart her sketchbook, shoving her, hitting her, spilling drinks on her things, tripping her &amp; downright berating her when she tried to talk back.” Ok that was the final nail in the coffin. Alya just continued crying harder with Rose &amp; Mylene joining her, Alix just stood there still gaping over what the ghost said, Kagami in slight shock with her eyes wide &amp; Juleka just curled up next to Rose with her knees covering her face.</p><p> </p><p>“How could I do that to her?!?! How I could do that to Marinette?!?! What have I become in this future?!?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well in this future’s Marinette’s words, worse than Chloe &amp; Hawkmoth. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she &amp; Adrien transferred to Mrs. Mendeleiev’s class &amp; started sitting with you Kagami. She could only leave with one person so the rest of you had to stay in Mrs Bustier’s class. Mrs Bustier herself was trying to control the chaos but was a bit, what’s the word, unsuccessful. You &amp; the rest did discover Lila’s lies eventually but it led to something a bit travesting.” Those last few words had Alya grimace through her sobbing.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened?” asked Alya in fear &amp; sadness.</p><p> </p><p>“Well for that I would have to take you to the scene.” With that the ghost snapped her fingers &amp; they teleported to the school. “Paris 2018. Today is the day of . . . <b>the accident.</b>” The girls gulped at those words &amp; grimaced.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean . . . the accident?” asked Rose, nervous.</p><p> </p><p>“Weeeelllll, when Lila’s gang found out about Lila’s lies, they confronted her about it &amp; she got upset so naturally you all went to apologise to Marinette. Buuuutttt. . . Lila wasn’t going down just yet.” She then pointed towards the staircase where Marinette was standing. She was talking to Juleka &amp; Rose &amp; as they went down, Alya &amp; Lila’s old group approached her with sorry faces. Marinette turned to face them with a bit of a frown. Alya had an apologetic look on her face &amp; Marinette read it immediately. She then nodded with Alya smiling aoftly, knowing she wants to accept their apology. After Marinette turned away for a while, they stopped &amp; discussed something.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok guys. Remember, apologise to Marinette, plain &amp; simple ok?” asked Alya to the group.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe not as easy as you put it Alya, but we can try,” replied Nino. As that was going on, the group didn’t notice Lila approaching Marinette from the side. The girls &amp; ghost noticed this &amp; by the time they did, it was too late. Lila pushed Marinette slightly &amp; she fell down the stairs. Shocked, Alya &amp; the present girls went down the stairs to check on her. They paled as they saw Marinette lying on the floor in pain, tears forming in her eyes. The future group noticed Lila standing where Marinette stood &amp; rushed to confront until they too saw Marinette on the floor in pain. Juleka &amp; Rose (of the future) came to Marinette’s aid. It’s when Lila spoke when all hell broke loose.<br/><br/>“Alya! How could you push Marinette down the stairs!?!?” Future &amp; present Alyas looked at Lila in shock.</p><p> </p><p>“WHAT?!” Alya (future) exclaimed. Marinette opened her eyes slightly &amp; looked at Alya with the saddest look anyone has ever seen the girl put on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya . . . you pushed me?” she croaked. “I . . . I thought you wanted to apologise? How could you?” </p><p> </p><p>“It wasn’t me Marinette, I swear! Lila pushed you &amp; tried to frame me!!! I really did want to apologise. I would never go this far.”</p><p> </p><p>“Zip it Alya.” The girls (present) were shocked to hear Juleka (future) speak. “You pretended to want to apologise to her &amp; pushed her anyway! You still hate her!”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Juleka I didn’t push her &amp; I don’t hate Marinette. Don’t you believe me Rose?” Rose was just dead silent with a very cold &amp; menacing glare on her face. She just looked at Alya &amp; shook her head. Mrs Mendeleiev came along shocked to see Marinette there. </p><p> </p><p>“Girls, what happened?!” Then Lila spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“It was Alya, Mrs Mendeleiev! She pushed Marinette down the stairs!” Once again both Alyas looked at Lila in utter disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>“ALYA!! You’re going to Mr Damocles’ office this instant! Rose, call an ambulance for Marinette &amp; call her parents too. Juleka, stay with Marinette &amp; escort her to the nurse’s office.”</p><p> </p><p>Future Alya was still in shock as Mrs Mendeleiev dragged her to Mr Damocles’ office. Before any of Lila’s old group could even speak to Lila herself, she was gone. The present girls were in total shock. Before any of them could speak, the ghost snapped her fingers &amp; teleported them out of the school to the street near the Liberty, Juleka’s home. Rose spoke up first.</p><p> </p><p>“So what happened after all that?” asked the blonde in shock.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, Marinette got transferred to the hospital. She didn’t go to school for 5 months due to her injury, she was almost fine as her legs &amp; back needed a long recovery before she could walk again. When her parents got the news, they were beyond livid. They both got akumatized &amp; Ladybug didn’t show up for some reason so poor Cat Noir had to defeat them by himself. After all that, Marinette avoided Lila’s old group until Adrien heard from Nino that Lila actually pushed her down the stairs so he informed everyone else including Marinette. So she’s not all mad at you. Eventually Lila had left Paris after getting her lies exposed by her old group &amp; you Alya. We’re currently back in Paris 2025 in the aftermath you could say. We're now at the point after Alya &amp; Nino visited the bakery to find Marinette.” As the ghost finished the girls heard some guitars playing. Juleka &amp; Rose recognised that sound. They all turned around the street corner to see the Liberty. Juleka’s future self was tuning her guitar with Luka. They all came on board to get a closer look. Juleka &amp; the rest had noticed how each member of Kitty Section had grown to look. They all looked older &amp; were wearing different clothing compared to last time. Juleka’s hair was in a ponytail no longer covering her left eye. She was wearing a black shirt with the Kitty Section logo on it with her signature purple pants, but they were bigger to fit her size. Rose was wearing a pink blouse &amp; skirt. Her blouse also had the Kitty Section logo on it. Ivan &amp; Luka were wearing the same styled shirt with the same Kitty Section Logo but Ivan’s was a bit more red in some parts with him also wearing some grey shorts &amp; Luka’s shirt has a dark cyan touch to it with him wearing a black jacket. Mylene was on the Liberty too in her signature braid &amp; a purplish pink dress. The girls &amp; the ghost noticed Alya &amp; Nino approaching the Liberty &amp; wondered what was to happen, except the ghost. Rose (future) turned to see Alya &amp; Nino, surprised &amp; happy to see her again.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya, Nino!” Rose exclaimed making everybody else on the boat turn to them with a smile. Present Rose &amp; the girls were shocked at Rose’s voice. She had gotten less squeaky &amp; her voice was a more composed relaxed version of herself. “It’s so good to see you again.” Rose welcomed them aboard with a hug for each of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Rose. hey guys. So good to see you again,” replied Alya (Future).</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. It’s good to see you both too,” Mylene (Future) answered back.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s the performances going dudes?” asked Nino (Future).</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you know Nino, the usual. Just local but we’re growing in popularity thanks to someone getting us connected with Jagged Stone,” replied Luka. Juleka &amp; Rose (Present) knew who that someone was. Marinette promised them about getting them connected to Jagged Stone one day but they understood she could ask Jagged anytime considering he’s so busy.</p><p> </p><p>“Speaking of that someone, have you both talked to Marinette yet? She really wants to see you both,” said Juleka (Future).</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah. About that, we came to ask if you guys have seen her. We’ve been looking all over Paris to find her,” Alya (Future) replied back.</p><p> </p><p>The band &amp; Mylene looked at each other smiling before turning back to Alya &amp; Nino. Rose giggled before speaking. “Well you’re both in luck. In 3, 2, 1.” Just as Rose said 1, a limo approached the Liberty &amp; pulled up next to it. After it stopped fully the chauffeur came out &amp; opened the door that was facing the Liberty. The band &amp; Mylene were smiling as a figure came out of the limo while Alya, Nino &amp; the present girls were shocked. It was Marinette. She was wearing a red dress with some black stripes trailing down to its tips. Her hair was in a bun like when she was younger &amp; her dress was also detailed in some other areas too. The chauffeur opened the other door &amp; out came Adrien, who was wearing a white shirt &amp; a black leather jacket &amp; some blue jeans &amp; Kagami, who was wearing a traditional red, gold &amp; black Japanese kimono styled by Marinette. Marinette had a smile on her face when she saw everyone, Alya &amp; Nino included.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya, Nino. So good to see you both again. How’s everything?” Ok, the present girls wanted to faint again. Marinette sounded more mature than she was compared to a few years ago. All respect they had for her just increased by 100000000%. Alya (Future) started to tear up a bit whilst approaching her long lost friend.</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette . . . I’m . . . I’m,” before anyone knew it, Alya just dropped to her knees &amp; hugged Marinette by the bottom dress. Marinette was surprised when she did so. “I’M SO SORRY MARINETTE!!!” </p><p> </p><p>Marinette (Future) was really puzzled right now. “Sorry? Sorry for what Alya?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry for not believing you over Lila, I’m sorry for bullying you at school &amp; worst of all, I’m sorry for being a bad friend.” Present Alya &amp; the rest of the girls almost teared up until they heard Marinette (Future) speak. She giggled slightly before doing so.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Alya. You’re silly sometimes you know that?” Once Marinette said that, Alya looked up at her through her tears confused.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“Alya, of course you’re forgiven. In fact I’ve wanted to forgive you since I found out that Lila pushed me down instead of you. I’ve wanted to contact you but I’ve always been busy when I tried too. I assume you were busy too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah . . .(sniffles). . . I’ve been trying to regain my credibility after that day. I now work for Nadja at the TV station as a full time reporter. How’s your website doing by the way?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh it’s been growing very popular. I’ve been getting a lot of commissions now so I’ve been really busy myself. Thankfully Adrien &amp; Kagami are there to help me.” Adrien walked up beside her then spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“Always a pleasure, princess.” Princess? The girls wanted to faint again. Did Adrien just call her princess? They were fangirling hard right now.  Future &amp; present Kagamis were just smiling at the scene.</p><p> </p><p>“So are we ok now girl?” Alya asked. If Marinette was being honest to herself, she missed Alya calling her that. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes Alya, we’re ok now.” Marinette noticed Nino just watching quietly. “Nino . . . don’t think I forgot about you.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh wait what? Sorry. I kinda zoned out watching you both reconcile as all.” Marinette rushed to give him a hug. Nino just entered her embrace. “I missed you dudette.”</p><p> </p><p>“I missed you too, Mr DJ. I heard you have a new DJ career,” said Marinette whilst booping Nino’s nose.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah. I’ve been a DJ for a lot of popular gigs lately.” He noticed Adrien looking at him. “Hey Adrien.”</p><p><br/><br/>Adrien just smiled at him before hugging Nino himself. “Hey man. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hug you since we parted. I want my best bro back.”</p><p><br/><br/>Nino teared up a bit &amp; just accepted his embrace. “Me too dude. Me too.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami (Future) then spoke up. “I’m really sorry to interrupt your reunion, by the way good to see you again Alya &amp; Nino.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good to see you too Kagami.” They both replied at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>“But we have a gala to get to. We don’t want to keep Prince Ali waiting.” Marinette’s eyes widened at what Kagami said. Present Rose was in shock. Kagami (Future) mentioned Prince Ali? But why?</p><p> </p><p>“Oh right! Kitty Section, Mylene, let’s get going. We have to get to the Le Grand Paris now!” The band &amp; Mylene immediately got their jackets &amp; belongings &amp; went into the limo. Alya was puzzled as to what was happening.</p><p> </p><p>“Girl, what’s going on?” </p><p> </p><p>“I’ve commissioned for Prince Ali a few times &amp; he’s come to visit Paris to discuss some business endeavours with me. Chloe is hosting a gala in honour of his arrival. We need to get there now.” Adrien &amp; Kagami entered the limo &amp; called out to Marinette to enter. Before she did, she turned to Alya &amp; Nino once again. “Do you both want to come?”<br/><br/></p><p>Alya &amp; Nino eyes widened. “You want us  to come, Marinette?” asked Alya in  shock.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. I'm allowed to invite anyone as long as they’re ready to go. So what do you say?”</p><p><br/><br/>Alya was jumping up &amp; down with excitement. “Yes yes yes! Thanks Marinette.”</p><p> </p><p>“No problem Alya. Consider myself your bestie again. Also I’ll give you an interview at the station one day &amp; we catch up another day.” With that, Alya &amp; Nino entered the limo &amp; the limo drove off. The girls were in shock &amp; awe of everything. Marinette was willing to forgive Alya after all that. So the girls came to a conclusion in their heads that Marinette was their angel in disguise &amp; no one else deserves her unless they decide so. After all that, the ghost clapped her hands &amp; the girls turned their attention to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok girls, our time is up.” The girls were in slight shock.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh really. Our time is up with you already?” asked Rose.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes unfortunately Rose.” The girls were a bit glum that this was the final part of their journey but not before the ghost spoke again. “You know girls out of everyone that me &amp; my companions have visited, you six definitely have the most wholesome friendship together.” The girls started to tear up in joy after hearing that, even Alix.</p><p> </p><p>“R-Really?” asked Juleka.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes really. Before I send you back I have some parting advice for you all.” They waited patiently for the ghost to speak. “There’s this saying that me &amp; my companions have that goes something like . . .”While it’s great to get new things, it feels the best when you cherish what you already have”. With this in mind, you can make new friends but always keep close to the ones you’ve been with the longest. So, if you all might want to keep close eyes on Marinette as you do owe her.” They all nodded in agreement.</p><p> </p><p>“I think we all know what must be done right girls?” asked Kagami. They all looked at her nodding as if they knew what each other was thinking.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok Mrs Ghost we’re ready to go back. On behalf of all of us, I’d like to say thanks for bringing us on this journey,” Alya spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“My pleasure Alya, &amp; to all of you. Well it’s been really nice meeting you.” Just before she snapped her fingers however.</p><p> </p><p>“WAIT!” Rose shouted. Everyone turned to her.</p><p> </p><p>“What is it Rose?” asked the ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“Please thank the other ghosts for us please.” All the girls sighed in relief. Classic Rose.</p><p> </p><p>“All right Rose. Welp, see you girls.” The ghost snapped her fingers &amp; a bright light shinned before all of them.</p><hr/><p>The girls woke up in Kagami’s room once again. Mylene broke their silence. “What time is it girls?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s 7:45!” exclaimed Juleka.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, here’s what we gotta do. Take showers, eat breakfast &amp; go to Marinette’s after this right?” they all nodded in agreement before getting up &amp; starting to clean everything up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm really sorry to everyone that's read this fic. I've been wanting to make &amp; upload this chapter for a while but I've been getting caught up with things &amp; I've never been able to do this chapter. To those of you waiting patiently for me to upload this chapter, I would like to say thanks for your patience. I took all the time I had perfecting this chapter &amp; I hope you all will like it. Hopefully I can upload the next chapter sooner than later. Anyways, the final ghost takes Marinette's form &amp; shows the girls their one most likely future with the real Marinette if the ghosts didn't visit them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. An Audience With Lila</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette decides to come face-to-face with Lila about why she lies. When she gets back to find her friends ready to apologize to her &amp; Lila pressured. When a akuma comes along, what will happen when Marinette takes it for her loved ones?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s a nice Sunday morning at 7 a.m at Marinette’s home &amp; she just woke up to Tikki greeting her. “Good morning Marinette,” Tikki greeted her cheerfully.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette yawned &amp; looked at Tikki with tired eyes &amp; a smile on her face. “Good morning Tikki.” Marinette got up from her bed &amp; went down the ladder. She picked up her phone &amp; turned it on. She scrolled through her messages on Whatsapp. Nothing new there. However, she went to her class group chat &amp; looked at each contact. In alphabetical order, she saw Lila’s contact. She thought to herself on that website she looked up one time on why people constantly lie about their life. She thought today, she could finally see why Lila was thinking. Tikki saw that Marinette had her thinking smile on.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you thinking Marinette?” asked the kwami with a curious face.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette thought about her words carefully before speaking back to her kwami. “Well Tikki, you remember that website that I found about why people lie about their life?”</p><p><br/><br/>Tikki realised what Marinette was talking about. “Yes. Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I’ve been thinking about it for a few days already &amp; I’ve come to a conclusion. I’m gonna ask Lila about why she’s been lying in the first place.” Tikki’s eyes widened a bit at those words.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok Marinette. I can understand why you want to do it but are you sure you should? You know what Lila’s capable of.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes I know that Tikki but I feel like Lila may have a good side to her. It’s worth a shot.” Tikki wanted to support Marinette’s idea. So she thought about something before speaking to Marinette again.</p><p> </p><p>“How are you going to do it though?” asked the kwami curiously.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette thought about it for a while &amp; an idea flew into her head. “Ok, I know what to do. I’m going to meet Lila at the park nearby &amp; we’ll talk it out. I might need to entice her a bit.” After saying that, Marinette got up &amp; walked to her closet &amp; opened it. She saw a leather jacket with a fedora she bought a while back. “I might also need a bit of a disguise, but I will let her know it’s me.” Marinette smirked a bit before looking at Tikki. The kwami gave her a nod of approval &amp; she looked back into the closet &amp; said, “I can use this.”</p><hr/><p>One shower &amp; changing later. Marinette looked like she was ready to set her plan in motion. She put on some sunglasses, grabbed a pastry basket &amp; went down to the bakery. Her mother was there already &amp; spotted her daughter coming down, noticing her outfit.. “Oh hello, dear. Where are you going today my little detective?” Marinette couldn’t really argue with the fact that she did look like a detective.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I’m just going to the park to meet someone. Also mom, do you think you could help pack some macarons in this basket for me please?” Sabine nodded &amp; took the basket &amp; filled it with some macarons &amp; then gave it back to her daughter. She gave Marinette the basket &amp; Marinette headed for the door. “Thanks mom. I'll be back soon.” As Marinette headed out of the bakery &amp; went straight to the park, Sabine looked at her with a smile as she walked down the street looking confident. It didn’t take long for Marinette to get to the park as it was just outside her house. She sat on the bench &amp; pulled out her phone with a confident smile. She scrolled through her Whatsapp groups, found her class, found Lila’s number &amp; went to the ‘message this number function’. Before she messaged Lila, Tikki came out of her purse.</p><p> </p><p>“You sure about this Marinette?” Tikki asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes I am Tikki.” Tikki honestly felt pure pride right now as she’d never seen Marinette this confident. Marinette began to text Lila’s number.</p><hr/><p>It was 7:20 a.m in Lila’s home apartment. Lila had just woken up. For some reason though, she felt empty. Not really anyone to give her attention as her mother’s working at the Italian Embassy currently &amp; no one else really to give her any attention. She went to the bathroom &amp; washed up a little then brushed her teeth. Lila was just about to relax on her bed with some nice relaxing morning music. As she opened her phone, she got a notification saying she had a message. She was a bit puzzled at this. “Hmm what’s this? A message for me?” she said to herself. She opened the message &amp; it’s as follows.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello Lila. Sorry for interrupting you if you are doing anything right now. I need to meet you in the park to discuss something.” Lila was really puzzled at this message. Someone wanted to meet her in the park just outside her home. She considered whether this was either a scam or a mislead as the contact was not in her list. She decided to message back.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, but who is this?” Her message got replied in just 10 seconds. </p><p> </p><p>“I'm a familiar face. Just come to the park for a little heart-to-heart.” Lila was getting really suspicious at this message. A familiar face that wanted a heart-to-heart talk with her. Who could it be? Regardless though, whoever sent the message was polite &amp; she had nothing else better to do anyways. She got up from her bed &amp; went to change from her pajamas. She changed into her usual attire &amp; left the house.</p><hr/><p>Lila approached the park with caution. She entered the gate &amp; saw a figure sitting on the bench. She hid behind a tree to look at the figure before approaching. The figure looked feminine, crossing her legs, definitely a teenager, wearing a grey leather jacket, a fedora &amp; sunglasses reading a newspaper with a basket to her side. She couldn’t really see the figure’s face as she was looking down. She approached the figure slowly, walking normally. When she was in front of the figure she tapped the newspaper to get her attention. “Are you the one that sent me a message?” asked Lila. The figure looked up at her &amp; Lila finally realised who it was. It was Marinette!</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I was the one that sent you that message. Good to see you Lila.” Lila gasped a bit as she thought she had been lured into a trap, but Marinette wouldn’t really attack her right. She was too nice for that. She didn’t look that threatening either.</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette?! You’re the one that sent me the message?!” Marinette just nodded, smiling back to her. “Why did you though?” Lila asked, crossing her arms &amp; raising a brow at the bluenette.</p><p> </p><p>“I just wanted to talk, that’s all.” Lila was beyond confused. Why would Marinette, her sworn rival, want to talk to her.</p><p> </p><p>“You want to talk to me?” Lila asked pointing to Marinette &amp; then back to herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Want a seat?” Well Lila couldn’t say no to a free seating offer. Even if it’s on the public bench in the park. Lila said nothing &amp; sat next Marinette &amp; the basket between them, still eyeing her. Lila was a bit curious as to why Marinette was dressed like that on top of what’s in the basket. Before she could speak, Marinette held up her finger &amp; put the newspaper to her left whilst putting her hand on the basket.</p><p> </p><p>“Have you had your breakfast yet?” asked Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>“No, not yet. Why?” Lila asked with a frown. Marinette opened the basket to reveal some fresh macarons. Lila was a bit surprised Marinette brought those.</p><p> </p><p>“Want a macaron? I thought you might be hungry,” asked Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>“Umm . . . sure I guess?” Lila took one macaron out &amp; took a bite. She was blown a way by the flavour &amp; the textures of the pastry in her mouth. She finished the first macaron &amp; tooka second. Marinette turned to her &amp; spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“How is it?”<br/><br/>“It’s great! I gotta hand to you Marinette, these macarons are really good. Did you make these?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well some of them. The rest are courtesy of my parents. Though they don’t know I’m actually here with you right now.” Lila finished her second macaron &amp; then looked at Marinette with a slight smile.</p><p> </p><p>“So . . . what is it that you want to talk about?” asked the brunette.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette turned away slightly then spoke. “Well Lila, I wanted to address what’s been making us rivals &amp; I thought of putting an end to it.” Lila raised an eyebrow slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok. So it’s about me lying isn’t it?” Before Lila could say anything Marinette cut her off slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“More specifically this Lila. Remember you told me you only tell people what they want to hear?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well you see . . .” Marinette turned to face the Italian. “I found this website that says on why people lie a lot &amp; I’ve been meaning to ask you this &amp; just be honest with me. Were you bullied a lot previously, or have you experienced feelings of inferiority, minority or exclusivity?” Ok, that got Lila’s attention to make her eyes go wide. It’s like Marinette read her like an open book. Lila turned away from Marinette before sinking into the bench with a sad look on her face. She remained silent for a while before tearing up a bit. Marinette noticed this &amp; then spoke again. “Are you alright Lila? Did I hit a nerve or something, I mean not in a bad way but in a worried way.” Lila looked back at Marinette. She actually genuinely cared for how she felt, unlike everyone else she’s known, aside from her mother, up until now. Why did she make Marinette her enemy? She could’ve been her friend but noooooo. She just had to be stubborn about it. She thought about every bad thing she had ever done or said about Marinette &amp; started to cry right then &amp; there. Marinette got up from the bench &amp; stood up in front of Lila. “Oh god Lila. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’m so sorry.” Marinette did not expect Lila pulling her towards her into a hug. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you dare be sorry, Marinette!” Lila exclaimed through her sobbing. “If anything I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m the one who lied, I’m the one who got you expelled &amp; I’m the one who swore to ruin your life. I’m so sorry!” Lila was generally being sincere &amp; Marinette could see that. Marinette accepted her hug then spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok Lila. All’s forgiven. It’s just that I never expected you to be like this when we first met.” Marinette could only comfort the poor Italian at this point. Marinette then let go of Lila to put a hand on her hands on Lila’s shoulders &amp; talk again. “So what happened to you before you came to Paris.” Lila whipped her tears away before looking up at the girl who literally turned her life around.</p><p> </p><p>“Well it started when I was little. (Sniffle) I was usually the odd one in my class you could say. I was left out on a lot of school activities &amp; . . . (Sniffle) I was usually the last one to be put into group activities. As I got older, my situation got worse. I got bullied, left out &amp; shamed everyday &amp; worst of all (Tears up more) . . . I was usually on the butt end of everyone’s joke. So one day I thought if I could just make up a few things, then maybe people would like me. So then I tried it &amp; it worked. As time went on, people came to know me for telling tales on me doing whatever. To be honest Marinette, you’re one of the few people that’s confronted me about this but you’re the only one to make me see that’s not right. I want to learn how to make friends, the RIGHT way.” Marinette smiled at the Italian knowing how she felt. Marinette herself had troubles making friends when she was young but she made it through in the end, despite Chloe giving her a bit of a hard time after some point. She really couldn’t figure out why Chloe turned nice to mean when they were young but that’s a story for another time (Next story hint). Marinette smiled &amp; gave Lila another hug.</p><p> </p><p>“If you want, we can make up for it today. Consider this macaron basket a symbol of peace. Friends?” Marinette asked as she extended her hand to Lila after she let go.</p><p> </p><p>“Friends,” Lila said as she took the bluenette’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, I think we might need to take this to your place as I don’t think my parents are particularly fond of you. Truth be told, they don’t know I’m meeting up with you.” Lila chuckled slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I guess I’m not the only sneaky one,” Lila said. Marinette offered her hand to the Italian to get her on her feet.</p><p> </p><p>“C’mon, let’s go to your house &amp; talk for a while. We can catch up on stuff.” Lila immediately nodded happily &amp; took Marinette’s hand. While they were walking to Lila’s home, she thought to herself about how Marinette could be so kind. She’s too good for this Paris, even the world as she thought to herself. This could be the start of something beautiful</p><hr/><p>Back at Kagami’s home.</p><p> </p><p>The girls were frantically getting ready to go to the bakery. They all showered one after the other, put on their clothes, cleaned up Kagami’s room &amp; made their way downstairs for breakfast. They passed the dining room to go to the entrance. As they did so, Kagami’s mom halted them for a minute. “Kagami, what’s the matter? You &amp; your friends don’t want to eat breakfast? Where are you all going?” asked Tomoe. Kagami quickly came up with an excuse to tell her.</p><p> </p><p>“We all decided to have breakfast at Marinette’s bakery mother. If that’s alright with you. Also, we have to talk to her immediately. It’s urgent,” Kagami said with a bow.</p><p> </p><p>“Very well Kagami. You know the rules, be back before dinner. You have school tomorrow anyway. And if it’s that urgent, go see her, I won’t stop you. Send Marinette my regards,” replied Tomoe in a calm tone.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes mother, thank you &amp; I will.” With that the girls left Kagami’s home with their things &amp; headed for the bakery. As they got there, they immediately burst through the door, shocking Marinette’s mother in the process.</p><p> </p><p>“Girls? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?” asked Sabine. The girls were panting as they ran, not necessarily, across Paris to get there. </p><p> </p><p>“We  . . . need . . .  to see . . . Marinette, Mrs Cheng. Is she here?” Alix asked, panting really hard.<br/><br/>“Oh about her. She went out to see someone. I’m not sure who she went to see but she hasn’t come back in an hour so far.” That had all of them worried. Who did Marinette go to see?</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll text her to come see us,” Alya suggested as she texted Marinette on her phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Good idea Alya. Also what do you need to see her for?” asked Sabine with an inquisitive look.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to talk to her about Lila. We know everything about her now,” exclaimed Alix. Sabine’s eyes widened with surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“When did you all find out?” Sabine asked in shock.</p><p> </p><p>“We . . . did our research. We’re so sorry we didn’t find out sooner Mrs Cheng,” said Mylene.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright Mylene &amp; the rest of you. Alya has she responded?”</p><p> </p><p>“No not yet.” Alya just looked at her phone &amp; her message to Marinette which read, ‘Mari where r u? We need to talk ‘bout Lila’. After 2 minutes she responded with, ‘What's it about Als?’</p><p> </p><p>‘We know everything about her. Me &amp; the girls wanna talk with u. Pls,’ Alya texted back.</p><p> </p><p>‘Sure, but I have someone that wants 2 speak to u too. Where r u?’</p><p> </p><p>‘At the bakery.’</p><p> </p><p>‘Excellent. I’ll be there soon.’</p><p> </p><p>“What did she say Alya?” asked Rose.</p><p> </p><p>“She’ll be back soon. She also said she has someone that wants to speak with us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm, I wonder who it could be?” murmured Juleka.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess we’ll have to wait &amp; see Juleka,” replied Sabine.</p><hr/><p>It took another hour for Marinette to come back to the bakery. Her friends &amp; parents were waiting patiently &amp; anxiously for her to come back. The girls had called all the boys to the bakery including Luka &amp; Marc. Adrien was going to be late. The girls filled the guys in with all the deets &amp; they’re minds collapsed, except Luka’s. He knew that Lila was trouble for Marinette because she herself told him about it one day when they were alone. They all had been eating pastries waiting for her to come back. It was 8:15 when they heard the door open. They all turned to the door expecting Marinette but it was ust Adrien. “You all texted me to come. What’s wrong. Is Marinette ok?” They all looked at Adrien with slightly disappointed faces. “Why are you all staring at me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, did you know Lila was lying the whole time &amp; didn’t tell us?” asked Nino. Adrien was shocked. They all knew about Lila’s lies now but how did they know about him knowing?</p><p> </p><p>“Did Marinette tell you?” he asked back curiously.</p><p> </p><p>“Nope. Kagami told us,” replied Kim. Adrien gave the japanese fencer a ‘why did you do that’ look.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t look at me Adrien. They found out eventually &amp; I had to tell them our side of things so they would understand our side of this whole ordeal,” the fencer replied, giving a tiny glare. Nino then walked up to him then gave the model a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, we would’ve believed you if you just told us. At least we know now, but we can’t really blame you considering you’re not really the best at making decisions,” said Nino.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I know I’m sorry guys. Sorry everyone,” Adrien replied before frowning.</p><p> </p><p>“Adrien, on behalf of everyone in the bakery, I would like to say it’s alright, you’re forgiven. But next time, don’t be afraid to tell us alright?” replied &amp; asked Tom.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, alright, thanks Mr Dupain.” Marinette’s dad then gave the blond a hug. Then Alya spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait a second, I just realised something.” They all turned to Alya.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s up babe?” asked Nino.</p><p> </p><p>“If Lila was actually lying, then why did she say she had a lying disease to get Marinette back in school?” That got everyone puzzled. Why did Lila do that? Adrien gave them the answer.</p><p> </p><p>“That was because of me.” Everyone immediately turned to Adrien.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean Adrien?” asked Rose.</p><p> </p><p>“I threatened to not be her friend if she didn’t lie again to get Marinette back into the school.” So that’s how Marinette got back into school.</p><p> </p><p>“It all makes sense now. WAIT A MINUTE! YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL FOR MARINETTE?!” exclaimed Alix.</p><p> </p><p>“I had to. I couldn’t stand to see Marinette upset like that.” Everyone just looked at Adrien in disbelief. He sacrificed himself so Marinette could come back. Kagami walked up to him &amp; bowed before looking up to him with a cheeky smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I knew you cared for her,” said Kagami cheekily.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I do Kagami.” And it proceeded with Kagami giving him a hug with her whispering quietly in his ear.</p><p><br/><br/>“She’s yours. I’m ok with it.” Adrien smiled with his eyes closed &amp; whispered back.</p><p> </p><p>“No, she’s ours. All of ours.”</p><hr/><p>Marinette &amp; Lila approached the bakery from the park. Marinette took off her coat &amp; fedora &amp; put it into the basket after she &amp; Lila had finished the macarons. Now that Lila has opened up to Marinette, she understands Lila’s side of things fully &amp; recommends her to take some therapy for her trauma. They approached the side of the park near the bakery door &amp; saw a lot of people inside. They hid behind a tree before Lila spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“Omg, they’re all there Marinette. I’m not sure about this anymore.” Marinette listened to Lila’s tone. She could tell Lila was nervous. Marinette smiled at the Italian before speaking.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry Lila. I got this. You stay here &amp; observe. I’ll calm down the crowd.” Lila looked at her new friend worried.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to do this Marinette. I don’t know if they’re willing to accept me yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry about it. Just take care of the basket &amp; wait.” With that, Marinette walked up to the bakery door. Everyone inside spotted her. She finally came back. They all teared up a bit, minus her parents. They all rushed out the door &amp; screamed her name. “MARINETTE!!!”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette saw them coming &amp; panicked. “Oh no. AAHH!!” All her friends captured her in a big hug. Marinette knew they weren’t willing to let her go. “Guys . . . OOOF. . . you’re all squishing me. PLEASE . . . lET gO.” They all let go of Marinette &amp; stood in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>“Girl . . . we-we’re . . .” Before Alya could even finish, Marinette put a finger on Alya’s lips before hugging her. She let go of Alya &amp; chuckled slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Alya, it’s ok. I know. You’re all sorry, blah blah blah, we’re sorry for listening to Lila, this &amp; that. None of that matters to me anymore. It’s ok Alya. All’s forgiven everyone.” All of them just looked at Marinette in disbelief. She was willing to forgive them after everything. They looked at her like she was an angel. “Look, what matters to me is that you all knew you made a mistake &amp; want to make up for it. That’s what matters to me.” Then, Alya hugged her back tightly then let her go holding the sides of her arms.. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you so much, Mari. And make up for it we will. Right guys?” Everyone followed up Alya’s comment with yeahs &amp; we are. Rose then walked up to her, gave her friend another hug. After that, she cupped Marinette’s cheeks, brought her face to hers &amp; spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve done so much for us Marinette. I think it’s high time we owe you for everything. That means payment for the commissions we asked from you, payment for everything else you’ve done for us &amp; full queen treatment,” sparked up the blond.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s eyes widened, took Rose’s hands off her gently &amp; shook her hands before saying, “Rose, everyone it’s ok. My commissions &amp; all those favours I did for you guys are for free. You guys are my friends. You all don’t have to do this. It’s fine, seriously &amp; I don’t need the full queen treatment.” They all just looked at Marinette like ‘seriously?’.</p><p> </p><p>“AH! No buts Marinette. We all agreed to doing this. No takey backsies. We promised to do this for you,” Alix exclaimed.</p><p> </p><p>“We all spoke to our parents about paying you &amp; they all agreed to it so there’s no saying no to that,” said Nathaniel.</p><p> </p><p>“According to my calculations, all those banners, pastries &amp; clothing you made &amp; gave us will be worth a fortune &amp; we do owe you a lot so you have to accept it either way,” Max chimed in.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah &amp; there’s no avoiding the full queen treatment either. You're in our care now. I think we’ve been neglecting you for a while now. Remember, you’re our ‘Everyday Ladybug’,” said Kim adding on. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette just looked at each of them, face palmed slightly, head in hand &amp; laughed a little. “Oh guys. What am I gonna do with you all?” she asked, smiling brightly. It’s been a while since they’ve seen Marinette laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“And don’t you worry about Lila dear. We’ll make sure she’ll never get near you again,” said her father. Marinette’s eyes widened slightly at the sentence.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually, dad, everyone, there’s something I need to tell you.” They all waited for her to speak. “The one hour plus that I’ve been away, I was with Lila.” Just as she finished, everyone gasped. “AHP! WAIT JUST A MINUTE! Before ANY of you freak out just hear me out.” They all composed themselves before Alix spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“Go ON Marinette. wE’rE LiStenING!” Alix was trying to hold in her anger. After everything she’s seen about Lila, she promised she would never let the Italian near Marinette but Marinette had already gone up &amp; talked to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I contacted her in the &amp; we met up in the park. Turns out she’s what I expected. I looked up a website on why people lie. Lila’s case was on the website. She was abused in her youth &amp; she lied to keep people from bullying her. It took over an hour of therapy at her home to get her to tell me everything. Lila wants to change guys. Don’t you Lila?” Marinette &amp; everyone else turned to the tree at the park entrance near the bakery &amp; Lila came out from behind it with a look of shame on her face before speaking.</p><p> </p><p>“I-It’s t-true. I really w-want to change.” Lila really couldn’t face any of them, even Marinette. It didn’t help that everyone else besides Marinette was glaring slightly at her. Alix snapped first.</p><p> </p><p>“You think this is as easy as you think?! HOW CAN ANY OF US TRUST YOU AFTER YOU LIED TO ALL OF US &amp; HARMED MARINETTE?!?! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Alix raged whilst charging at Lila. Luckily Kim grabbed her in the nick of time. “LET ME GO KIM!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“Alix, chill. Let’s not make this harder for everyone.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien then walked up next to Marinette, holding her shoulder looking at Lila in disappointment. It actually made Marinette blush slightly. “I told you everyone would figure out eventually Lila.”</p><p> </p><p>Lila looked at Adrien. “But I really want to change Adrien. I really do. While I understand that me lying about everything is not good &amp; the fact that I threatened Marinette was terrible, I want to make up for my actions. You would believe me on that won’t you? Besides I owe you too for entering your personal space without your consent. I’m sorry for that too, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>“Guys, it’s true. She really wants to change. Can’t we give her a chance” Marinette said, trying to defend the Italian.</p><p> </p><p>“How can we trust her after she hurt you Marinette?” exclaimed Luka.</p><p> </p><p>“She apologised to me already. Why do you think I had a therapy session with her?” she replied trying to battle back.</p><p> </p><p>“What if that was a lie too? What if she pretended to apologise. You’ll never know when she’ll stab you in the back my hime,” Kagami added on.</p><p> </p><p>“I really meant my apology to her guys. I’m really am sorry. I promise to never hurt Marinette again. Solemn promise.” As Lila was trying to defend herself, Marinette turned her head &amp; saw an akuma approaching with her eyes widening. It was heading right towards her &amp; the group. </p><p> </p><p>“Guys look out!” Just as everyone had heard her say that, she grabbed the dark butterfly &amp; shove it into her bracelet, the akuma absorbing into it. Everyone, including Lila, looked at Marinette in utter shock &amp; fear. </p><p> </p><p>“MARINETTE!” They all screamed. As they did the Hawkmoth mask appeared on her face as she was looking at them in worry. They all, except for a few, remembered the first time Hawkmoth nearly akumatized her. They all grimaced in total fear. It was then when Hawkmoth spoke to her where it all came crashing down for the villain &amp; it lighted up for Marinette &amp; her loved ones.</p><p> </p><p>To be continued in the next chapter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>BOOM. Lila is nice in my story &amp; will be in the ones to come. Once again, sorry for the long wait. Had some things to do in my personal life again. I've decided that the next chapter is the final chapter of this book. More to come so no worries.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. She Will Fight For Her Beloved</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Continuing from the previous chapter, what will happen in this chapter when Marinette fully fends off the akuma?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Princess Justice, I am. . . ugh. Wait, what?!” Hawkmoth felt something happening in his head. Then, he felt a surge of painful energy going through his brain. “AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!” Hawkmoth was screaming in pain whilst holding his hands to his head. His brain surged like it was on fire. Marinette was doing something to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other side of things, Marinette shut her eyes &amp; focused all her mental energy to fight Hawkmoth’s control. She initially couldn’t fight it during her expulsion due to her being emotional but now she was in full control. So much so that it was starting to hurt Hawkmoth really badly. Everyone just watched Marinette with anticipation. “Dear, what’s happening?!” asked her mother. Out of all of them, her mother is the most worried of the situation. Marinette sat on the ground with closed eyes, trying to focus her mental energy on combating the akuma’s control. The funny thing is that she’s only using a little bit of her mental capacity to do it. She giggled deviously before standing up with her head down. “Marinette, please. I know you’re still there. Please fight it.” Then Marinette brought her head up &amp; looked at them innocently enough, with her usual smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mom, I’m fine. It’s ok I’m still here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s happening dear? Hawkmoth isn’t not controlling you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette just shrugged slightly. “Nope.” The mask lit up suddenly. Hawkmoth is in extreme pain. His brain was surging like it got hit by lightning &amp; on fire at the same time. “I’m just currently giving Hawkmoth extreme brain pain. Lets just say, some spare time meditation to avoid akumatization has payed off tremendously.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let . . . go . . . of . . . my akuma. . . . Please. I beg off you. AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH.” Hawkmoth tried to regain control but it just gave him more pain. In reality. Tikki helped Marinette make a potion to not only be immune to the miraculous’ akumatizing, but it gave it’s wielder extreme brain pain when he or she tried to do it for bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette just laughed, which in turned made everyone scared. “No, I don’t think I will. You think you can akumatize me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng &amp; get away with it? HAH. Fat chance Hawkmoth. Now if you want me to let go of your akuma, I have some conditions to be met first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What . . . do you . . . want?” Hawkmoth replied weakly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well first &amp; foremost, never try &amp; akumatize me or my family &amp; friends AGAIN! If you do, I’ll have Ladybug, Cat Noir &amp; the whole Parisian government hunting you like a dog. Once they do find you, I’ll have them bring you to me &amp; the authorities to deliver your punishment &amp; trust me, you’ll never see the light of day again when I’m done with you.” That made everyone around Marinette &amp; Hawkmoth beyond terrified. “Secondly, I want you to immediately purify this akuma, make it loyal to me &amp; let me keep it. Just these two conditions but keep the first one in mind. GOT IT?!?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright . . .alright. I’ll do it. I won’t forget the first part too.” With that, Marinette released the akuma from her bracelet &amp; it instantly got purified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello little one.” The purified akuma just fluttered around Marinette playfully, tickling her slightly. Marinette was laughing whilst playing with the purely white butterfly. Everyone just looked at her contemplating whether to be shocked, scared, happy or all three. She just avoided akumatization &amp; made a deal with Hawkmoth &amp; she was just going to ignore what she just did?! Lila jumped at the opportunity to show that she wanted to change.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette!” Marinette heard Lila call her name. The italian girl rushed to her like she was being chased. “Are you ok? Do you feel alright? Here let me check on you.” Lila checked Marinette all across her body &amp; dusted the bluenette. “Oh my gosh. Don’t scare us like that. Geez.” Lila just hugged her quickly &amp; then held her by the sides. “Please tell me you’re ok.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes Lila. I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Oh my gosh. You gave us a heart attack! Do you have any idea what you being akumatized means?! The end of Paris for all I can think of! You’re way too pure to get turned into a supervillain! If you did, I’d . . . (sniffle) I’d have nothing left aside from my own mother. My only friend, corrupted by a terrorist. I . . . I CAN’T LOSE YOU!” Lila broke down crying in front of everyone. That just wowed everyone. Marinette meant that much to Lila now? Gosh, Marinette must’ve given her quite the pep talk. She then just embraced Marinette with all her might. Marinette could feel her shirt getting wet from Lila’s tears. Lila just wailed for a straight 5 minutes. Marinette just accepted her embrace while everyone behind thought about what they did for that one hour.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok Lila. It’s ok, I’m right here. No akumatized Marinette.” Marinette had to let her go in spite of Lila wanting to cling to her for what seemed to be forever. “I need to change now. You left quite the sea of tears on my back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“(Sniffle) . . . Sorry,” Lila said weakly, rubbing her nose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok. I’ll be right back.” Marinette then turned to her parents &amp; friends behind Lila. “Watch over Lila while I go change will ya?” Stopping there, she was about to go to her room when the white butterfly appeared in front of her. “Oh, don’t think I forgot about you little one. C’mere.” She held out her right hand’s pointer finger so the butterfly could land on it. She then brought her hand to her head &amp; set the butterfly on her hair. She then happily went inside the bakery &amp; went up to her room, not before stopping midway up the stairs. “I can’t believe I did that Tikki.” It was then Tikki flew out of her purse to talk. She also continued up the stairs whilst having their conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I can’t believe it either. That potion actually worked. But now’s the big question, what are we going to do about Lila &amp; this purified akuma?” Tikki asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, Lila’s already covered Tikki, I don’t know what you’re on about? :)” Marinette jokes, which Tikki huffed in a reply. “As for this purified akuma, I’m thinking of keeping it &amp;  naming it Absolem. I really liked the Alice in Wonderland movies &amp; I really like Absolem the butterfly. So why not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok, I can understand. I have watched the movies with you, Marinette. I think Absolem is a nice character as well, very underused in my opinion, but isn’t there anything else we should be doing with it?” Tikki asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I agree on the whole ‘Absolem being an underused character’ thing but of course there’s more to little Absolem here. We can experiment on him so I can contact Hawkmoth with it &amp; to make more akuma protection potions for my friends &amp; family. For now though, I need to change &amp; we need to give little Absolem here a new home.” With their conversation done, Marinette immediately changed her clothes quickly. She hoped Lila was ok down there.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, outside the bakery.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila wasn’t really sure what happened. First Marinette just fought off an akuma trying to possess her &amp; know she’s here. Standing in front of the entire class, minus Chloe &amp; Marinette parents not really sure what to do. Adrien then spoke first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You really want to change don’t you Lila?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Yes I do.” Before she could say anything else, Alya walked up to her &amp; put her hand on Lila’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look Lila. We know you’ve been shady before, but I think we’re willing to give a second chance. Right everyone?” Alya added. Everyone said just replied with a simple ‘yeah’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still doesn’t change what you’ve done to Marinette,” Alix grumble muttered under her breath. Lila heard that &amp; she she backed up from Alya.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok, first of all, I’m not gonna take offense to that Alix,” Alix was surprised she actually heard that. “ -&amp; secondly, I feel like I have to do this.” Lila then proceeded to hold up her hand &amp; take an oath. “I, Lila Rossi, take this oath to promise to never harm Marinette, never make fun of her, protect her at all costs, appreciate her &amp; to make sure to be there for her when she needs me. There. Now do you guys believe me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were just shocked. Lila just took an oath for Marinette. Damn, she really did want to change. Marinette’s mother approached her &amp; gave her the final words. “Alright Lila. You have our belief. We’ll give you a second chance but no more lying ok?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I promise. Thank you Mrs Cheng. Thanks guys.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Since that day, everything was going good. Marinette &amp; Lila were really good friends. She was fitting really well into Marinette’s girl group. There are some days however when the Italian gets very clingy over Marinette but overall, things were going good for Lila. Lila’s changed so much in fact, she’s even willing to protect Marinette from Akumas. Lila knew that her life was going to change for the better.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>The End</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm so sorry for taking so long to finish this chapter. Now that I'm done, I can focus on my commission fic, Dupain Cheng Kids AU &amp; other projects I'm working on. Really sorry if this chapter seems lazily done. Please look forward to my upcoming stories.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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